3 dead after 2 Army helicopters crash above Alaska

Three Army pilots died and a fourth was injured when two helicopters crashed in Alaska following a training flight on Thursday, according to a report.

The two AH-64 Apache choppers from the 11th Airborne Division’s 25th Aviation Regiment at Fort Wainwright were each carrying two service members when they crashed near Healy.

Three of the four were killed in the crash and the fourth person was rushed to a hospital, Army spokesperson Capt. Molly Treece told the Washington Post.

“First responders are on the scene,” the 11th Airborne Division said in a statement on Twitter. “The incident is under investigation and more information about the incident will be released when it becomes available.”

It’s not immediately clear what caused the crash or if the two helicopters collided.

The deadly wreckage is the second crash involving Apache helicopters in Alaska this year.

In February, two soldiers were wounded when their helicopter rolled after taking off from Talkeetna on a trip out of Fort Wainwright.

Thursday’s tragedy also comes one month after nine soldiers died when two US Army Black Hawk medical evacuation helicopters crashed during a nighttime training exercise over Kentucky.

With Post wires