A U.S. Army AH-64 Apache attack helicopter crashed off Dove Hollow Lane near Salado on Wednesday afternoon, killing both people aboard and igniting an uncontained brush fire that forced authorities to evacuate nearby residents. The crash was reported around 2 p.m. in Central Texas along Interstate 35, roughly 51 miles north of Austin, according to MySA.
Fort Cavazos, still widely known by its former name Fort Hood, confirmed the aircraft belonged to the installation. Acting commanding general Brig. Gen. Ethan Diven said securing the crash site and supporting the initial response is the Army's immediate priority, as reported by CBS News. Bell County Sheriff's Office spokesman Cliff Coleman said a local justice of the peace pronounced both individuals dead at the scene near FM 2843 following what officials described as a violent crash, according to the Associated Press.
Grass Fire Forces Evacuations Along FM 2843
The crash sparked a small grass fire in Bell County, according to KWTX, that quickly grew uncontained and prompted localized evacuation orders for surrounding residents. Crews from the Salado, Jarrell, Eastside, and Westside fire departments responded alongside Bell County Emergency Service District 1, per Times Now. First responders said the roadway near FM 2843 was impassable, and drivers were urged to avoid the area entirely. It remains unclear whether the helicopter struck any other structures in the area.
Some local outlets initially reported the aircraft might be linked to a military base about 30 miles from the crash site before Fort Cavazos officials confirmed it belonged to their own installation. Mia Valdez, the MySA reporter covering the story, described it as a developing situation as details continued to emerge Wednesday afternoon.
Army CID Takes Lead On Investigation
The Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division has taken the lead on investigating the fatal crash, with assistance from the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Bell County Sheriff's Office, the Associated Press reported. Bell County law enforcement and Army CID have a history of working together, having previously partnered on a Bell County online sting that led to eleven arrests earlier this year.
Because the crash resulted in fatalities and destroyed the aircraft, it qualifies as a Class A mishap under Department of Defense safety instructions, which mandates a separate formal safety investigation board through the U.S. Army Combat Readiness Center, according to the U.S. Air Force Safety Center. That safety probe runs independently of the criminal investigation and focuses on root causes such as mechanical failure or flight parameters, rather than assigning blame.
Fort Cavazos Has Seen Fatal Rotary-Wing Crashes Before
Fort Cavazos is home to the 1st Air Cavalry Brigade of the 1st Cavalry Division, whose units, including the 1st Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, regularly conduct AH-64 Apache live-fire and tactical training exercises across Central Texas, according to DVIDS. The base has a history of fatal aviation accidents. In November 2015, four Army crew members assigned to Division West, First Army were killed when their UH-60 Black Hawk crashed during a routine training mission on the Fort Hood range, TIME reported at the time.
An Army AR 15-6 investigation into that 2015 crash later determined pilot error caused the fatal stall and found that search-and-rescue response had been delayed by more than two and a half hours due to unit-level operational complacency, according to Army Times. Those findings led to revamped flight safety protocols across base operations. Separately, in December 2016, two Texas Army National Guard soldiers were killed when their AH-64 Apache crashed into the water off the Bayport Cruise Terminal near Houston during a routine training flight, according to the Texas Military Department.
Officials have not yet released the identities of the two people killed in Wednesday's crash. Military protocol typically requires a waiting period for next-of-kin notification before names are made public, and both the criminal and safety investigations into the cause of the crash remain in their early stages.
