Aiexpress – The U.S. National Guard has taken decisive action to prioritize safety by initiating an “aviation safety stand down” for all Army National Guard helicopters. This proactive measure comes in the wake of two tragic crashes that resulted in the loss of two soldiers’ lives.
According to a statement from Lt. Gen. Jon Jensen, the director of the Army National Guard, safety is always the primary concern for the organization.
This comes after two Army National Guard pilots, Chief Warrant Officer 4 Bryan Andrew Zemek and Chief Warrant Officer 4 Derek Abbott, were killed after their AH-64D Apache helicopter crashed during training in northeast Mississippi near the small town of Booneville on Friday.
Jensen stated that the aviation stand down, implemented on Monday, aims to ensure optimal preparedness for all crews, regardless of the number of helicopters affected.
The decision to ground the fleet was influenced by a separate Apache helicopter crash in Utah on February 12th.
Currently, there are approximately 45,000 Guardsmen deployed both domestically and abroad. The Guard plays a significant role in providing airpower support to the United States on international missions.
In February 2023, a Black Hawk crash in Tennessee resulted in the tragic death of two individuals. Just a month later, in March of the same year, another crash occurred, claiming the lives of nine soldiers. This incident marked one of the deadliest training accidents in the history of the military branch, as reported by The Hill.
