Two pilots were killed after an Idaho Army National Guard Apache helicopter crashed on Thursday during a training mission just outside the Boise city limits, according to Ada County Coroner Erwin Sonnenberg. The Department of Defense will be investigating the cause of the crash, the military said.
The deaths of the two male pilots was confirmed by National Guard spokesman Col. Tim Marsano, who identified them as fifty-year-old Stien P. Gearhart and 43-year-old Jon L. Hartway, the Associated Press reported.
"It's a very difficult evening for us in the Idaho National Guard," Marsano told CNN affiliate KBOI. "We don't know the reasons why. We can't speculate at this point."
On Thursday night, the Apache combat helicopter went down at approximately 7 p.m. about two miles south of the National Guard base at Gowen Field near Boise International Airport, the Ada County Sheriff's Office said, adding that there had been no fire.
Boise firefighters initially responded to the crash but then turned the scene over to the National Guard, Fire Chief Dennis Doan said.
While it remained unclear whether the pilots had been heading to or returning from a mission, Marsano claimed he didn't know whether any communication was heard from the helicopter prior to the crash, NBC News reported.
"The men and women of the Idaho National Guard are united in grief at the loss of two of our brothers in arms, who gave their lives while training to defend our nation," Maj. Gen. Gary Sayler, commander of the Idaho National Guard, said in a statement. "Today, our thoughts and prayers are with their families."
Meanwhile, the crash site, which had 16 Apache helicopter at its Gowen training base, is being investigated by the military and has been secured and blocked off media access by Ads County sheriff's deputies.
Early Thursday morning, another U.S. military air crash involved an Air Force F-16 fighter jet that reportedly crashed in the Gulf of Mexico. After rescue crews searched throughout the night, the pilot's body was finally discovered in the Gulf.
