A US Army Apache attack helicopter crashed in the predawn hours early Saturday while flying a routine training mission at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin in California.
Both the pilot and the co-pilot were killed, according to Lt. Col. Jason S. Brown, a spokesman for the Army at the Pentagon.
“The cause is currently under investigation and next-of-kin notifications are ongoing, therefore we can provide no further details at this time,” he said in a statement to Fox News.
The Apache gunship was flying a “readiness training exercise” at the time of the crash, according to a separate official.
The helicopter was attached to the Army’s 4th Infantry Division based out of Fort Carson, Colorado. It had been sent to California as part of a regular training rotation in the California desert, the official added.
Saturday’s crash was the first known deadly accident for the U.S. military in 2018.