FLYING COFFINS: 4 Army AH-64 Apache helicopters have crashed in just 2 months

04/04/2024 / By Ava Grace

Four U.S. Army AH-64 Apaches have crashed in the past two months, with the most recent pair of incidents coming within days.

On March 27, a U.S. Army AH-64 Apache attack helicopter crashed at Fort Carson in Colorado. That was the second active duty Army AH-64 crash in three days and follows a pair of crashes involving Army National Guard Apaches last month. The National Guard’s Apaches were subsequently grounded.

The most recent Army AH-64 mishap involved an unspecified Apache variant assigned to the 4th Combat Aviation Brigade, part of the 4th Infantry Division, at Fort Carson. The crash occurred at approximately 6:30 p.m. local time on a routine training flight. The helicopter’s co-pilot/gunner were taken to the base’s Evans Army Community Hospital where they were treated for minor injuries and subsequently released. (Related: Israel pressures US for more Apache helicopters even while owning up to mass civilian casualty airstrikes.)

“We are grateful our soldiers are safe, and the unit is ensuring the crew, their families and friends are receiving all possible care and support during this time,” the statement read.

Another Apache, an AH-64E variant from the 16th Combat Aviation Brigade, suffered a mishap at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington State. That incident also occurred during a routine training mission and is being investigated.

The pair of incidents came after two Army National Guard AH-64D Apaches crashed in February. Both of those mishaps, which also occurred during training flights, are still under investigation.

The first of these incidents involved an AH-64D from Utah’s 1st Battalion, 211th Aviation Regiment, which came down at South Valley Regional Airport in West Jordan on Feb. 13. One of the individuals onboard that helicopter at the time was treated and subsequently released. The other individual, a pilot from the U.S. Air Force Reserve’s 419th Fighter Wing at Utah’s Hill Air Force Base, was said to be hospitalized and in stable condition immediately after the crash. It is unclear why an Air Force pilot was flying in the Apache.

Two officers killed in one of the Apache crashes

The second mishap involved an Apache from the Mississippi Army National Guard, which came down near the city of Booneville in the northeastern end of the state on February 23. Chief Warrant Officer 4 Bryan Andrew from Company A, 1st Battalion, 149th Aviation Regiment, and Chief Warrant Officer Derek Joshua Abbott from Company D, 2nd Battalion, 151st Aviation Regiment, died in that crash.

On February 27, the Army National Guard announced it was grounding all of its Apaches.

“We are a combat force with helicopters training or on mission worldwide every day,” U.S. Army National Guard Director Lt. Gen. Jon Jensen said at that time. “Safety is always at the top of our minds. We will stand down to ensure all our crews are prepared as well as possible for whatever they’re asked to do.”

No such grounding appears to be in effect for AH-64s assigned to active duty units. As of March 2023, the stated Army Acquisition Objective (AAO) for Apache was 812 helicopters. As of 2020, there were more than 700 Apaches assigned to both active duty units and elements of the Army National Guard. AH-64 variants have been in Army service for four decades now, with the first AH-64As being delivered in 1984.

Last year, the Army disclosed a spike in failures of electrical power generators on AH-64s, which the service said could cause “potentially hazardous” smoke buildup in the cockpit.

The Army also announced in February that it was canceling a program to develop and field a new armed scout helicopter, called the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA), which had been set to supplant around half its AH-64s.

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Watch this video that shows an Apache helicopter crashing on the ground.

This video is from the HaloRock channel on Brighteon.com.