The Army on Friday released the identities of two Fort Hood helicopter pilots who were killed when their Apache crashed during a maintenance test flight in central Texas.
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Deontre T. Huey, 34, of Killeen, Texas, and Warrant Officer Seth L. Olmstead, 25, of Belton, Texas, died when the helicopter went down in a field near Salado, about 30 miles from the military base, on Wednesday.
Huey and Olmstead were pronounced dead at the scene.
Huey joined the Army in 2014, while Olmstead entered the service in 2023. Both were assigned to Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division.
The two pilots were the only ones on board.
The AH-64 Apache attack helicopter has been a vital part of the U.S. military’s fleet since the first models entered service in 1984. Its two-person crew sits in tandem, with the pilot positioned in the rear and the co-pilot seated in front.
The Aug. 12 crash also sparked a wildfire that burned about 155 acres before firefighters brought it under control. The fire also forced several homes to be evacuated, according to a sheriff’s official.
The Apache helicopter did not hit homes or any other structures when it went down.
The aircraft crashed in a grassy field about a half mile west of the 16400 block of Kuykendall Branch Road, according to the Bell County Sheriff's Office. Authorities said an emergency call about the crash came in shortly after 1:30 p.m. Deputies arrived on scene to find the helicopter engulfed in flames.
"It crashed into a field. You could tell it was a violent crash," Bell County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Cliff Coleman said.
Fort Hood is a massive military installation spanning 214,968 acres and serves as a major training and deployment site for heavy forces. The Army has described the surrounding terrain as ideal for its military training.
The Army has not released a cause of the crash. A safety investigation team from the Army Combat Readiness Center at Fort Rucker, Alabama, responded to the deadly crash and is leading the investigation.