Two Army Apache helicopters collide in separate incidents within a span of 48 hours

The Army experienced two Apache helicopter crashes within the span of 48 hours, the service said, after a second crash sent two soldiers to the hospital on Wednesday.

The two crashes occurred during routine training exercises and resulted in four injuries but zero deaths. The first crash occurred on Monday at an Army base in Washington, and the second occurred in Colorado on Wednesday.

Wednesday’s incident occurred at approximately 6:30 p.m., when the ​​AH-64 Apache from the 4th Combat Aviation Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, crashed during a routine exercise. Two servicemembers were mildly injured and transported to a base hospital that night before being released, according to the Hill.

A team from the Army Combat Readiness Center at Fort Novosel, Alabama, will investigate the cause of the crash, and all helicopters on the base have been grounded pending the investigation.

The other incident occurred on Monday at about 9:30 p.m. and resulted in two other injuries. The make of the helicopter was the same as Wednesday’s incident, and the cause of that crash is also being investigated.

The crashes come after two other helicopters crashed in February. Both were part of the National Guard. The first crash occurred in Utah on Feb. 12 and resulted in two injuries but no deaths. The second crash on Feb. 23 resulted in the deaths of both pilots in Mississippi.

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The Army ordered the grounding of all National Guard helicopters for a safety review in February because of the crashes.

“We are a combat force with helicopters training or on mission worldwide every day,” Lt. Gen. Jon A. Jensen, director of the Army National Guard, said at the time. “Safety is always at the top of our minds. We will stand down to ensure all of our crews are prepared as well as possible for whatever they’re asked to do.”