A Mississippi Nationwide Guard AH-64 Apache assault helicopter crashed within the northern a part of the state close to Booneville on Friday afternoon, a service part spokesperson confirmed.
Two Guardsmen who had been on board had been killed within the mishap and security crews had been on the scene, in keeping with an announcement from Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves. The names of the 2 service members had been being withheld till subsequent of kin could possibly be notified.
The Mississippi crash is one more lethal mishap involving army helicopters, with a lot of these incidents involving the Nationwide Guard — a service part grappling with points involving funding and upkeep.
Learn Subsequent: DC-Space Army Retention Is Good, and It May Be a Bellwether for the Remainder of the Service
“Mississippi will all the time be glad about their service and we are going to always remember them,” Reeves mentioned within the assertion.
The information comes after a Utah Nationwide Guard AH-64 Apache helicopter crashed close to Salt Lake Metropolis final week. The 2 pilots survived, a rarity in rotary crashes. In March final 12 months, the Army noticed one of many deadliest coaching incidents in its historical past through which 9 troopers died in a crash involving two Black Hawk helicopters out of Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
The Army Nationwide Guard specifically additionally has had a lot of incidents over the previous decade, with at the very least 28 of its troops killed in helicopter crashes as of April, in keeping with a report from the Authorities Accountability Workplace.
Among the many different incidents, two Tennessee Nationwide Guard troopers died in a Black Hawk crash in February; a 2021 Black Hawk crash killed three New York Guardsmen; and a 2015 Black Hawk crash killed 4 Lousiana Guard troopers and 7 Marines.
Along with the Guard protecting a lot of the army’s missions within the Center East and Africa, it depends closely on helicopters for its home missions, significantly catastrophe reduction and search and rescue.
The GAO’s report final 12 months discovered vital points within the Nationwide Guard, significantly a scarcity of flight hours amongst its pilots, who want a minimal of 6.77 hours a month, with 9 hours thought of optimum. Between 2017 and 2019, the majority of Guard pilots flew round 5 hours per 30 days.
Nevertheless, the Nationwide Guard just isn’t alone in its points with helicopters. Investigators this week decided a components failure occurred throughout an Osprey crash in Japan in November. The crash killed all eight airmen on board. Earlier this month, 5 Marines died when their CH-53E Tremendous Stallion crashed in Southern California.
Editor’s be aware: This story was up to date with the standing of the 2 crew members on board.
Associated: In Wake of Deadly Black Hawk Crash, Renewed Scrutiny of the Helicopter’s Security Document
Story Continues
