CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. -- Two Army pilots were killed when their helicopter crashed near Fort Campbell in rural Tennessee, the military said Thursday.
In response to the crash and another helicopter crash that killed four soldiers early last week at Fort Hood, Texas, the Army on Thursday grounded all aircraft in active-duty units for the next five days to review safety and training procedures.
The two crew members in Tennessee were flying a two-seat AH-64D Apache during a routine training mission when the helicopter went down around 7 p.m. Wednesday, according to a news release from the Army's 101st Airborne Division. The copter crashed in a rural field near the Cumberland River, said Fort Campbell spokesman Maj. Allen Hill. He said the helicopter was on fire when found.
The scene was secured by military police from Fort Campbell and Montgomery County law enforcement.
The cause of the crash has not been determined, the Army news release said. The crash was being investigated by the Army Combat Readiness Center. The names of the pilots were not immediately released.
Hill said it could take six months to determine the cause of the crash. He said the Army Combat Readiness Center is reviewing information to determine whether there were any communications from the pilots before the crash.
Weather conditions in the area were good at the time -- a clear night with good visibility and light wind, meteorologist Brittney Whitehead with the National Weather Service in Nashville said.
Fort Campbell is on the Kentucky-Tennessee border, about 60 miles northwest of Nashville.
