AH-64 Apache helicopter crashes in Tenn.

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. — A helicopter that crashed in Montgomery County has been confirmed as a Boeing AH-64 Apache from nearby Fort Campbell, according to Elizabeth Black, county spokeswoman.

Fort Campbell spokesperson Maj. Allen Hill also confirmed that the two-person helicopter of the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade went down during "routine training" 12 miles south of Fort Campbell.

Emergency crews responded Wednesday night to a helicopter found in a rural area near Gholson Road, just south of Johnson Road.

Montgomery County Emergency Management Agency Director Jerry Buchanan said the helicopter was found crashed in a river bottom and was on fire when first responders arrived.

"We put the fire out," Buchanan said. "We can't say whether there are fatalities.There are about 30 to 40 emergency workers on site."

Before the crash site was found, an Army spokesperson said the aircraft may have been from Fort Campbell, which straddles the Kentucky-Tennessee border.

“We’re working on getting all the facts together, and are in the process of getting information,” said post spokesman Bob Jenkins.

Federal Aviation Administration officials also referred questions about the crash to Fort Campbell.

The AH-64 Apache is a four-blade, twin-turboshaft attack helicopter that carries two crewmembers, according to Boeing, its manufacturer.

The crash is one of at least three Army helicopter crashes that have occurred during training in the last month.

Two U.S. pilots were killed Nov. 23. when an AH-64 Apache crashed near Wonju, South Korea, during a routine training mission, the Pentagon said. Four crewmembers died when a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed on the Fort Hood range, Army officials said early Nov. 24.

Contributing: Stephanie Ingersoll and Ray Howze, The (Clarksville, Tenn.) Leaf-Chronicle

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