“Incredible Loss”: Two Apache Helicopters Collide In Exercise Over Alaska, Killing 3 Soldiers

During a military training mission on Thursday, two Boeing AH-64 Apache helicopters collided in Alaska, resulting in the deaths of three soldiers, while another sustained injuries, according to a press release from US Army officials.

US Army’s 11th Airborne Division said the two Apache helicopters were “returning from a training mission when they collided in flight.” 

Two AH-64 Apache helicopters from the 1st Attack Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment, at Fort Wainwright crashed today near Healy, Alaska, returning from a training flight.

— Eleventh Airborne (@11thAirborneDiv) April 28, 2023

“Two soldiers were declared dead at the scene of the crash and a third died en route to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital. The fourth soldier is being treated at Fairbanks Memorial for injuries sustained in the crash,” the Army said. 

The two helicopters were AH-64 Apache helicopters originally based at Fort Wainwright near Fairbanks. First responders are reportedly on the scene near Healy, Alaska, about 180 miles from Anchorage. https://t.co/qHgCTmjcOP pic.twitter.com/Rc1DS7YKe9

— TieDye Intel (@TieDyeIntel) April 28, 2023

CNN said the crash occurred 100 miles south of Fort Wainwright, where the helicopters are stationed. The military base is located in Fairbanks. 

Maj. Gen. Brian Eifler, commanding general of the 11th Airborne Division, said in the release:

“This is an incredible loss for these soldiers’ families, their fellow soldiers, and for the division.

“Our hearts and prayers go out to their families, friends and loved ones, and we are making the full resources of the Army available to support them.”

The incident was the second military helicopter crash in less than 30 days. In late March, nine soldiers were killed when two HH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, operated by the 101st Airborne Division, crashed during a nighttime training mission near Fort Campbell, Kentucky.