Tragedy in Alaska: 3 Soldiers Killed After 2 US Army Helicopters Crash

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On Thursday, two American Army helicopters crashed near Healy, Alaska while travelling back from training. Unfortunately, three soldiers died and another was injured at the scene of the accident or on the way to a hospital in Fairbanks for treatment.

The U.S. Army Alaska, said earlier Thursday that two people were in each of the AH-64 Apache helicopters when they crashed. The army also said that their names won’t be revealed until their next of kin are informed. The helicopters were from the 1st Attack Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment at Fort Wainwright close to Fairbanks.

Maj. Gen. Brian Eifler from the 11th Airborne Division expressed how terrible this loss was for the families, soldiers and the division. He said that they are sending their thoughts and prayers to everyone who lost someone and also offering full Army resources to help them through this time. The crash is still being investigated, so more information will be available soon.

This accident is the second one involving military helicopters in Alaska this year. Back in February, two people got hurt when an Apache helicopter tipped over right after taking off from a place called Talkeetna. There were four of these helicopters going to Anchorage’s Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson from Fort Wainwright.

In March, nine soldiers sadly died when two U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopters crashed during a practice mission around 30 miles away from Fort Campbell in Kentucky.

Healy is about 10 miles north of Denali National Park and roughly 250 miles north of Anchorage.

Healy is a small town of around 1,000 people in Alaska. A lot of tourists come here to spend the night while they visit Denali National Park, home to the biggest mountain in the USA.

Healy is famous for being close to an old abandoned bus which was featured in the book and movie titled “Into The Wild.” The bus was taken to Fairbanks in 2020.