FORT BENNING, Ga. – Two Army special operations pilots were killed when their helicopter crashed during a training exercise in western Georgia, a military spokeswoman said Tuesday.
No one else was injured in the crash Monday afternoon at Fort Benning, said Carol Darby, a spokeswoman for the Army aviators' unit.
"We're not saying a lot about what happened," Darby said, noting the cause of the crash is still being investigated. "The helicopter was conducting routine military training involving our Rangers and other spec operations personnel."
Both soldiers belonged to a battalion of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment based at Fort Campbell, Ky., Darby said. The unit's aviators are among the Army's elite fliers, trained to pilot helicopters in darkness using night-vision goggles and in treacherous terrain such as the mountains of Afghanistan.
The helicopter that crashed was an AH-6M Little Bird, a light attack helicopter used in air raids, armed escort missions and to provide air support to ground troops.
Darby said the crash happened on a live-fire range at Fort Benning in Columbus, where Army Rangers and other special operations troops are training this week.
The Army did not immediately release the names of the two soldiers who died, pending notification of their families.
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