Two Die When Large Military Vehicle Flips Near Fairbanks; Air & Ground Ambulances Evacuate 12 Injured Soldiers

Eielson AFB Website 

Military Transport Trucks Specialize In Their Ability To Handle Dirt Roads 

...Crash Occurred On A Dirt Road 

Leading Into Yukon Training Area 

Official Military Photo taken at Yukon Training Area 

There were two fatalities when an army military transport vehicle carrying 17 soldiers flipped over on a dirt road leading to the Yukon Training Area on Tuesday, October 3rd, said the army. 

Military vehicles typically specialize in an ability to handle dirt roads. This one lost control – on a dirt road. Two soldiers were killed. Twelve other were injured and were evacuated by ground and air ambulance to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital.

"Army Military Transport Vehicles" are defined in Wikipedia as a variety of vehicles with off-road capabilities, some wheeled and some half-tracked. 

WIKIPEDIA: 

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The Yukon Training Area is near Salcha, a small community 30 miles southeast of Fairbanks on the Richardson Highway. The training area is part of the larger Fort Wainwright complex, and borders Eielson Air Force Base. It covers 266,891 acres, and includes a marksmanship range, an infantry platoon battle course, an infantry squad battle course, a 'Grizzly' battle course, and a live-fire trench range. 

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Salcha is along the truck route that will be followed by a year-round, 5-year, round-the-clock 250-mile ore hauling effort from Tetlin to Fort Knox, north of Fairbanks. Kinross Mines has announced that full 95-foot ore trucks will be coming along the Alcan, Richardson and Steese Highways every twelve minutes, rolling through Fairbanks along Peger Road past historic Pioneer Park before turning onto Fairbanks' Johannsen Expressway and back on the Steese. The empty trucks will return to Tetlin along the same route. 

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In February, 2022, a military vehicle flipped on the Richardson. See story from Country Journal below:

SEE 60 MINUTES CLICK HERE 

Deja Vu All Over Again 

On Sunday, February 6th, CBS' 60 Minutes Showed The Dangers Of Military Vehicles Overturning During Routine Training...

Then, On Monday, There Was A Military Vehicle Turnover On The Richardson Highway Near Harding Lake 

An alarming story on CBS' 60 Minutes Sunday night, February 6th showed the dangers of turnovers by military vehicles – especially the Humvee. The show revealed footage of Humvees flipping at low speeds when the steering wheel was turned.  

The show catalogued the deaths of military personnel in many routine trainings who have been killed – not in battle, but while just driving along in training exercises in the United States near bases.

The day after the show aired, as if to punctuate the 60 Minutes story... a military vehicle in Alaska flipped over. 

The accident closed the Richardson completely for an hour at Mile 318 of the Richardson Highway near the Harding Lake Recreational Area. Troopers did not say what kind of vehicle was involved. 

Apparently, nobody was hurt. Convoys on the Richardson Highway, coming down from the military bases north of the Copper Valley, are fairly common. 

Trooper Report 

Location: Richardson Highway

Type: Motor Vehicle Collision

Dispatch Text:

On 2/7/22 at 11:36 pm, the Alaska State Troopers were notified that a military vehicle had flipped off of the roadway near mile 318 of the Richardson Highway. Alaska State Troopers responded to provide traffic control assistance to the military personnel actively recovering the vehicle. Troopers alternated one lane of traffic until approximately 2:45 pm when the roadway was completely closed as military crews uprighted the vehicle which blocked the entire roadway. At approximately 3:45 pm the roadway was reopened in both directions.