Army helicopter pilots are flying significantly less than they were a decade ago, according to data reviewed by Military.com, as the service grapples with a string of recent deadly incidents.
Since 2012, flight hours across the Army’s top three helicopter platforms have dipped dramatically. Flight time with the Apache has dropped about 50%; Chinook pilots have 36% less time in the air; and the Black Hawk, the service’s premier workhorse, is flying 25% less.
Much of that dip in flight time is attributable to the Global War on Terror winding down, with combat operations slowing down and a commensurate dip in training time. The Army did not provide an aviation expert or senior leader in that field for an on-the-record interview for this story.
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But that decline has coincided with a surge in recent deadly helicopter accidents.
Last month, Gen. James McConville, the Army’s top officer, ordered a safety stand-down following back-to-back high-profile helicopter crashes: one involving two Black Hawks that killed nine 101st Airborne Division troops and another in Alaska in which two soldiers were killed and a third injured when two AH-64 Apaches collided. Aviation units were tasked with reviewing maintenance of their crafts and going over safety procedures.
The crash in March involving the 101st Airborne was one of the deadliest non-combat incidents in the Army’s history…
