Army Helicopter Clips Power Lines Near Beverly During Exercise

Crew members are recovering after what's described as an aviation mishap when a U.S. Army helicopter hit power lines in Grant County.

The power lines fell onto the adjacent highway and into the Columbia River during the mishap Friday afternoon.

As a result, SR 243 in the Beverly area was closed for several hours, and a wildfire broke out, but was quickly brought under control.

The army said two pilots in the helicopter were taken to Yakima Training Center for evaluation by military medical personnel after the rough landing.

The incident is under investigation.

The helicopter, which was conducting a routine exercise during the mishap, was an AH-64E Apache assigned to 4-6 Air Cavalry Squadron, 16th Combat Aviation Brigade.