Missile Dropped On Residential Neighborhood

Fort Hood, Texas An Army helicopter accidentally dropped an inert training missile onto a residential neighborhood causing an evacuation of nearby homes. A witness reported seeing the missile fall from the helicopter and implanting into the ground. The police were called and as a safety precaution, approximately 100 homes were evacuated while military ordnance personnel investigated the missile. It was quickly determined that the missile did not contain a warhead or a propulsion system. The missile was removed from the area and the residents were allowed to return to their homes within an hour after the missile was reported.

Fort Hood released a statement on the incident which read "Safety is always our number-one concern, and we regret the inconvenience to the families affected in the area. We want to reassure the public that our military aircraft never fly off the installation with live munitions." A full investigation is underway to determine the cause of the inadvertent munition drop to determine if it was pilot error or a malfunction of the equipment.