The first US Army crash in the year 2018 has left two Americans dead.

Flying a routine training mission at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin in California, the Army Apache attack helicopter crashed Saturday.

“The cause is currently under investigation and next-of-kin notifications are ongoing, therefore we can provide no further details at this time,” Lieutenant Colonel Jason S. Brown, a spokesman for the Army at the Pentagon, told Fox News.

A separate official noted that the accident, which left both the pilot and the co-pilot, occurred during “readiness training exercise.”

Armed with hellfire missiles, rocket pods as well as a 30mm chain gun, the chopper had reportedly been sent to the area from the Army’s 4th Infantry Division based out of Fort Carson, Colorado.

Last year, twice as many American forces were killed in non-combat aviation crashes compared to 2016.

Source: Presstv