Army
Army helicopter from JBLM crashes Monday; 2 pilots hospitalized
By
The News Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.) March 26, 2024
Puneet Bsanti and Rolf Boone
The News Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.) March 26, 2024
An AH-64E Apache helicopter assigned to the 16th Combat Aviation Brigade lands at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., in July 2023. (Kyle Abraham/16th Combat Aviation Brigade)
(Tribune News Service) — An Army helicopter crashed Monday night on Joint Base-Lewis McChord, and two pilots were transported to a hospital on base.
The U.S. Army AH-64E Apache helicopter and crew, assigned to the 16th Combat Aviation Brigade, suffered an “aviation mishap” during a routine training exercise, according to the U.S. Army 7th Infantry Division.
About 9:45 p.m., fire crews with Southeast Thurston Fire Authority and East Olympia Fire District 6 were dispatched to the scene. The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office also responded to the scene, Sheriff’s Lt. Mike Brooks said.
Southeast Thurston Fire Chief Mark King, who described the terrain as marshy, heavy with brush and difficult to access, said the pilots were taken to Madigan Army Medical Center, one by ground and one by air.
The extent of the crew members’ injuries was not released. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
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