CNN 6/9/2026

## Two US crew members ‘rescued’ after Apache helicopter went down off the
coast of Oman

By Kathleen Magramo and Todd Symons, CNN

Updated: 6:51 AM EDT, Tue June 9, 2026

Source: CNN

Two US crew members were “safely rescued” after a US Army Apache helicopter
went down off the coast of Oman, the US military confirmed early Tuesday.

“The Soldiers were safely rescued within approximately two hours and are in
stable condition. The cause of the incident is under investigation,” US
Central Command, the military branch responsible for operations in the Middle
East, said in a post on X.

The loss of the aircraft marks the first loss of an Apache since the conflict
with Iran began. It comes after hostilities in the region escalated over the
weekend, with Iran and Israel exchanging their first direct strikes in months
late Sunday.

The US military said the helicopter went down “while patrolling regional
waters.”

US President Donald Trump commented on the incident overnight, saying “the
pilots are fine” after being asked by reporters about a report that a US Army
helicopter went down near the Strait of Hormuz.

“The pilots are fine, nobody injured,” Trump told reporters in New York after
attending Monday night’s NBA Finals game.

US CENTCOM spokesman Capt. Timothy Hawkins said a US Navy surface drone “found
and rescued the crew from the water.”

The New York Times was first to report that a US Army Apache helicopter went
down near the strait on Monday, and that two crew members had to be rescued.

The helicopters have previously been used to attack Iranian small boats as
part of the US blockade of Iranian ports.

Apache helicopters are primarily used for precision strikes, close air
support, and air reconnaissance, according to the Central Command website.

The US military has lost dozens of aircraft –– including at least five fighter
jets, seven Stratotanker refueling aircraft, a search-and-rescue helicopter
and more then two dozens drones –– since the war with Iran began in late
February, according to a Congressional Research Service report issued in May.

In early April, the US military had to launch a risky operation to rescue one
of the pilots of a F-15E Strike Eagle that was shot down inside Iran. The
military had to blow up two of its own special operations aircraft on the
ground in Iran during the covert mission, which involved hundreds of American
military and intelligence personnel, including special operations forces.

In March, a KC-135 Stratotanker refueling aircraft crashed in western Iraq,
killing all six crew members onboard. And days earlier, three US F-15 fighter
jets were mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti air defenses, with all crew members
ejecting safely.

A number of aircraft were damaged in Iranian strikes on a US airbase in Saudi
Arabia, while other aircraft sustained damage after coming under Iranian fire
while they were in the air.

_This story has been updated with additional information._

CNN’s Kaanita Iyer and Zachary Cohen contributed to this report.

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