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The Army late Friday grounded most of its aviators until they complete a new training program, acknowledging that two recent deadly helicopter crashes necessitate a renewed focus on safety.
The stand-down order from Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville came just one day after three soldiers were killed and another hospitalized after two Army AH-64 Apache helicopters collided while returning from a training mission near Fort Wainwright, Alaska. Last month, nine soldiers died after two Blackhawk helicopters collided during an Army training mission near Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
Army officials said there does not appear to be a link between the two. But they said more must be done to prevent such incidents in the future.
“The safety of our aviators is our top priority, and this stand down is an important step to make certain we are doing everything possible to prevent accidents and protect our personnel,” Gen. McConville said in a statement. “During this stand-down, we will focus on safety and training protocols to ensure our pilots and crews have the knowledge, training and awareness to safely complete their assigned mission.”
The order grounds all Army aviators except those participating in critical missions. The aviators are required to complete a 24-hour stand-down between May 1 and May 5.
During that stand-down period, the Army said, aviators “will review the risk approval/risk management process, aviation maintenance training program, aircrew training standardization and management, and supervisory responsibility.
“They will also assess the flight-mission briefing process with an emphasis on risk mitigation, crew selection, flight planning, crew/flight briefings, debriefings and after-action reviews,” the Army said in its statement.
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