Two Mississippi National Guardsmen on Friday were killed in a Mississippi National Guard AH-64 Apache attack helicopter crash near Booneville, MS.
The crash occurred during a routine training flight on Friday afternoon, the Mississippi National Guard said in a news release.
The Mississippi National Guard State Aviation Office reported the crash at approximately 2 p.m., stating that the helicopter went down in a wooded area. The fallen soldiers belonged to the A Company 1-149 Aviation Regiment Unit and the D Company 2-151 Lakota Medical Evacuation Unit of the Mississippi National Guard.
“Our paramount concern at this time is to ensure proper casualty assistance is conducted to support the surviving family members,” said the Mississippi National Guard in a statement.
This tragic incident adds to a series of deadly military aviation accidents in recent months. Earlier this month, five Marines lost their lives in a helicopter crash in Southern California, while in December, eight airmen died in a CV-22 Osprey crash off the coast of Japan, prompting the grounding of the entire fleet.