An Alabama coroner says a helicopter crash at a military base has killed one person and injured another. Dale County Coroner John Cawley says an AH-64 Apache helicopter crashed during routine flight training on Fort Novosel Army base on Wednesday afternoon. The base is the Army's primary training facility for helicopter pilots. It's about 94 miles south of Montgomery. The crash killed the flight instructor. There was only one other passenger in the helicopter, a student, who is being treated for minor injuries at a hospital. Military authorities did not immediately provide any information about the circumstances of the crash.
"Our primary concern is the welfare and health of the student pilot and care and concern for the family of the deceased," Maj. Gen. Clair A. Gill, U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence and Fort Novosel commanding general, said in a statement emailed to The Associated Press.
The AH-64 Apache is a two-crewmember aircraft. Fort Novosel was previously known as Fort Rucker. It is the Army's primary training facility for helicopter pilots.
This week’s crash is just the latest involving military aircraft in Alabama. Back in February, WDHN-TV reported how The Pike County Sheriff’s Office confirmed an Army helicopter crashed near Banks. Sergeant Sean Smith with the Pike County Sheriff’s Office told the press how the helicopter, a UH-72 Lakota from Fort Novosel, was on a training exercise when it crashed in a wooded area near County Road 4405 and Alabama Highway 130. Smith says only the pilot and one other crew member were on board at the time of the crash and seemed to suffer only minor injuries. Both were transported to a hospital for treatment via medical helicopter from Fort Novosel.
At that time, the cause of the crash is currently unknown, but officials believe wind gusts may have played a part. Officials with Fort Novosel say the Lakota was damaged, but there have been no reports of damages to personal property or civilian injuries.
In addition, Investigators at Fort Novosel have investigated crashes elsewhere in the U.S. Back in March, Two U.S. Army soldiers were injured in an Army AH-64 Apache helicopter crash during a training exercise at Colorado’s Fort Carson. At that time, the helicopter crash is the fourth Apache helicopter incident to be documented over the past two months. The U.S. Army Combat Readiness Center at Fort Novosel looked into that accident.
According to The Daily Caller, Fort Carson officials noted that all of the base’s aviation assets had been grounded “until further notice” following Wednesday’s crash. The officials to The Daily Caller that Army Combat Readiness Center investigators from Fort Novosel, Alabama, are currently investigating the incident. Officials also told The Daily Caller that the two Apache helicopter pilots sustained minor injuries, were treated at a local hospital.
