Army temporarily grounds all Apache helicopter flights after fatal crash

By Luis Martinez

The Army on Friday announced it's temporarily grounding all Apache helicopter flights following the fatal crash near Fort Hood, Texas, earlier this week.

"Army leaders directed a temporary stand-down of AH64 Apache training flight operations," the Army said in a statement. "The stand-down will remain in effect until we have a better understanding of the root cause of the accident. We currently have no additional information to share."

A two-seater Army Apache attack helicopter based at Fort Hood "experienced a mishap ... during a maintenance test flight" on Wednesday and crashed in a field near Fort Hood, according to the Army. Two soldiers -- identified as 34-year-old Chief Warrant Officer 2 Deontre T. Huey and 25-year-old Warrant Officer Seth L. Olmstead -- died in the crash.

It's not yet clear what led to the crash and the Army said a team from the U.S. Army Combat Readiness Center is leading the safety investigation.

Recent data show that Apaches have a higher number of recent mishaps than other helicopters in the Army inventory.