The death of two soldiers this week has led to the grounding of the Army’s training flights using AH-64 Apache helicopters.
The crash near Fort Hood, Texas, took place Wednesday, according to NewsNation.
The two were identified as Chief Warrant Officer 2 Deontre T. Huey and Warrant Officer Seth L. Olmstead.
The U.S. Army has identified two soldiers with the 1st Cavalry Division that were killed in a crash involving an AH-64E “Apache” Attack Helicopter on a maintenance flight earlier this week in Salado, Texas. According to the Army, the soldiers have been identified as 34-year-old… pic.twitter.com/Gtsp98Ggpl
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) August 14, 2026
The Army said Huey and Olmstead were conducting a maintenance test flight in Central Texas when the helicopter went down.
The crash started a ground fire that required fire crews to respond.
The Army issued a statement on Friday announcing it is pausing similar flights, according to Stars and Stripes.
“The stand-down will remain in effect until we have a better understanding of the root cause of the accident,” the statement said.
The Bell County Sheriff’s Office received 911 calls about the crash shortly after 1:30 p.m., according to Cliff Coleman, the office’s public information officer.
ALERT: The U.S. Army has halted all AH-64 Apache attack helicopter training flights after one crashed near Fort Hood, Texas earlier this week, killing both soldiers on board and sparking a wildfire.
The U.S. military has identified the deceased pilots as Chief Warrant Officer 2… pic.twitter.com/1V4Q9nBJZT
— Sergeant News Network (@sgtnewsnetwork) August 15, 2026
“You could tell it was a violent crash,” he said, according to Stars and Stripes.
The soldiers were pronounced dead at 2:30 p.m., Coleman said.
“Our hearts and deepest condolences are with the families of the Soldiers we lost Wednesday,” Lt. Gen. Kevin D. Admiral, III Armored Corps and Fort Hood commanding general, said in a statement, according to Fox News.
“The Army is a family, and a tragedy like this is felt throughout our formations and our community,” he said.
“In the difficult days ahead, our priority is to ensure these families and our Soldiers have the care and support they need,” Admiral’s statement said. “We are making all appropriate resources available to those affected by this loss.”
Huey, 34, of Killeen, Texas, joined the Army as a motor transport operator in 2014 and was assigned to Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division in February 2022.
Olmstead, 25, of Belton, Texas, joined the Army in January 2023 as a warrant officer candidate and was assigned to his current posting in October 2025.
The Army said a team from the U.S. Army Combat Readiness Center in Fort Rucker, Alabama, is investigating the crash.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
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