M36 Captive Trainer.jpg
An Apache helicopter assigned to Fort Drum lost a training missile like this one during a flight Friday, Aug. 28, 2015, over Upstate New York. The 10th Mountain Division is asking for the public's help in finding the inert missile, which is not capable of exploding.
(Fort Drum)
FORT DRUM, N.Y. -- Missing: A 5-foot long, 100-pound piece of steel with a strong resemblance to a Hellfire missile. Painted black with the words "U.S. Army" on the side. If found, please don't touch. Call police or Fort Drum immediately.
That's the message from Army officials at Fort Drum as their search entered its fourth day Monday for an inert training missile that fell off an Apache helicopter Friday somewhere over Upstate New York.
The helicopter lost the non-explosive dummy missile Friday morning during a flight from Fort Drum in Jefferson County to Stewart International Airport in New Windsor, Orange County, according to Army officials.
As of 11 a.m. Monday, the missile still had not been recovered, said Julie Halpin, speaking for Fort Drum.
Other Apache helicopters from the 10th Combat Aviation Brigade, part of the 10th Mountain Division, retraced the flight path of the first helicopter in a search for the missile Friday, Halpin said. She declined to disclose the flight path.
Halpin said she did not know if the aerial search efforts would continue Monday.
The M36 Captive Flight Training Missile poses no risk to the public because it is not explosive or motorized, according to Fort Drum officials. It is usually attached to the helicopter to simulate the weight of a missile during flight.
Fort Drum officials say they do not know how the training missile separated from the helicopter. The training missile cannot be dropped or fired from the helicopter like a live Hellfire missile.
Fort Drum officials are appealing for the public's help in locating the missile. Anyone with information is asked to call their local police agency or the 10th Mountain Division Operations Center at (315) 772-6324.
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