Helicopter crash at military base kills 1 and injures another, county coroner says

FORT NOVOSEL, Alabama — One person was killed and another injured in a helicopter crash at a military base in Alabama on Wednesday afternoon, the local coroner who was at the scene said.

An AH-64 Apache helicopter crashed during routine flight training at the Army’s Fort Novosel base, about 94 miles (151 kilometers) south of Montgomery, Dale County Coroner John Cawley said. The crash killed a flight instructor who was flying the helicopter. There was only one other passenger, a student, who was treated at a hospital for minor injuries.

Cawley identified the deceased instructor pilot as Daniel Munger, 46, a contractor who was retired from the Army.

Military authorities have not yet released any information about the circumstances of the crash.

“Our primary concern is the well-being and health of the student pilot and the care and concern for the family of the deceased,” Maj. Gen. Clair A. Gill, U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence and commanding general of Fort Novosel, said in a statement to news organizations.

The statement said the accident is under investigation.

Fort Novosel was formerly known as Fort Rucker. It is the Army’s primary training facility for helicopter pilots.