Iranian fire or technical malfunction? Crash of US Apache helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz under probe
Though the US has lost several MQ-9 Reaper armed drones and fighter jets, to both Iranian missiles and friendly fire, this is the first incident of an Apache helicopter crash
A US Army Apache helicopter gunship crashed near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, with President Donald Trump confirming the two crew members are safe, though the cause remains undetermined and is under investigation, with initial reports suggesting possibilities ranging from mechanical failure to hostile action, a development that occurred shortly after an exchange of fire between Iran and Israel and represents the first loss of an Apache helicopter in the ongoing conflict, during which the U.S. military has deployed various aircraft to counter Iranian actions in the strategically vital waterway.
A US Army Apache helicopter gunship crashed near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, with President Donald Trump confirming the two crew members are safe, though the cause remains undetermined and is under investigation, with initial reports suggesting possibilities ranging from mechanical failure to hostile action, a development that occurred shortly after an exchange of fire between Iran and Israel and represents the first loss of an Apache helicopter in the ongoing conflict, during which the U.S. military has deployed various aircraft to counter Iranian actions in the strategically vital waterway.
A US Army Apache helicopter gunship crashed near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, with President Donald Trump confirming the two crew members are safe, though the cause remains undetermined and is under investigation, with initial reports suggesting possibilities ranging from mechanical failure to hostile action, a development that occurred shortly after an exchange of fire between Iran and Israel and represents the first loss of an Apache helicopter in the ongoing conflict, during which the U.S. military has deployed various aircraft to counter Iranian actions in the strategically vital waterway.
An investigation has been launched into the crash of the US Army Apache helicopter gunship, which went down near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday. US President Donald Trump confirmed the chopper incident, adding that the two crew members were safe.
"The pilots are fine... We are going to issue a report tomorrow, but the pilots are fine," he said en route to White House.
The cause of the crash is unclear. A report by The New York Times, quoting an unnamed source, said it was not immediately clear whether the Apache was shot down by Iranian fire, experienced mechanical failure or encountered some other problem. The incident happened a day after Iran and Israel traded fire.
However, the Trump administration had not released any information about the helicopter crash until The New York Times contacted the White House press office for comment on Monday evening.
This recent crash marks the first time an Apache helicopter has been lost in the conflict.
The U.S. military has used Apache helicopters, MQ-9 Reaper armed drones, and F/A-18 and F-35 fighter jets as part of the Central Command offensive to counter Iran’s efforts to effectively block the Strait of Hormuz for most commercial traffic. Though Iran has shot down about 30 unmanned Reaper drones, and a handful of U.S. fighter jets have been lost to hostile and friendly fire, there is so far no report about an Apache lost in the conflict.