Pilots Involved in Apache Helicopter Crash in Alaska Released from Hospitals

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A U.S. Army AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopter flies over Fort Wainwright, Alaska.
A U.S. Army AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopter assigned to 1st Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment Attack Reconnaissance Battalion (ARB) flies over Fort Wainwright, Alaska, April 14, 2019. (CW2 Cameron Roxberry/U.S. Army photo)

Two Army aviators injured Sunday in a crash of an AH-64D Apache helicopter in Alaska have been released from area hospitals.

John Pennell, media chief for the 11th Airborne Division, U.S. Army Alaska, said Monday that the pilot and co-pilot/gunner had been medically evacuated from the crash site -- the Talkeetna airport -- and were treated and released.

The soldiers have not been identified.

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The helicopter was one of four from the 25th Attack Battalion based at Fort Wainwright, Alaska, taking part in a training exercise. They were en route to Joint Base Elemendorf-Richardson when they stopped at Talkeetna to refuel.

The accident, described by Pennell as a "rollover," happened as the Apache was taking off.

Conditions at the time of the crash were windy with light snow.

A team from the Army Combat Readiness Center is expected to arrive at the site Wednesday or Thursday to investigate the mishap, according to Pennell.

Sunday's crash is the second in eight months for the AH-64 Apache. In June, two Army aviators sustained non-life threatening injuries when their helicopter crashed near Ozark, Alabama. That helicopter was based at Fort Rucker, home to the Army's Aviation Center of Excellence.

The cause of that accident has not been released.

-- Patricia Kime can be reached at Patricia.Kime@Military.com. Follow her on Twitter @patriciakime.

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