UPDATE: Two killed in military helicopter crash
Published 6:27 pm Friday, February 23, 2024
- Brig. Gen. Christopher L. Spillman, the commandant of the U.S. Army Air Defense Artillery School and chief of Air Defense Artillery, speaks to Soldiers of Charlie Battery, 1st Battalion, 204th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, Mississippi Army National Guard, during the presentation of the Alexander Hamilton Award at the National Guard Readiness Center in Morton, Miss. (Mississippi Army National Guard Photo by Staff Sgt. Shane Hamann, 102nd Public Affairs Detachment/released)
The Mississippi National Guard experienced a helicopter crash Friday in a wooded area near Boonville, Miss.
A report from Prentiss County Sheriff Randy Tolar confirms the loss of two soldiers as a result of the crash. The military aircraft was an AH-64 Apache, flying a routine training flight. The crash happened at about 2 p.m. Friday per reports from the Mississippi National Guard State Aviation Office.
“Our paramount concern at this time is to ensure proper casualty assistance is conducted to support the surviving family members. One Soldier was in A Company 1-149 Aviation Regiment Unit and the second Soldier was in D Company 2-151 Lakota Medical Evacuation Unit, Mississippi National Guard,” said Lt. Col. Deidre D. Smith.
“We are grateful to the first responders and safety crews who are still working the scene of the accident with local authorities. Like all accidents, this incident will be investigated. We are not at liberty to discuss any details of this accident during an ongoing investigation.”