World

A US Military Helicopter Went Down Over the Strait of Hormuz and Both Pilots Survived

By Mike Harper · June 9, 2026

On Monday, a US military helicopter went down over the Strait of Hormuz. Both pilots survived. Trump confirmed it Tuesday morning on Truth Social: “Our two great pilots are fine.”

The helicopter, which the Pentagon has not yet fully identified by type, went down during operations in the strait — the waterway where 20% of the world’s seaborne oil moves and where the United States has been conducting combat and surveillance operations continuously since Operation Epic Fury began on February 28. The cause of the crash has not been publicly confirmed. CENTCOM has not attributed it to hostile fire, but has not ruled it out.

The incident is the latest addition to a loss count that a Congressional Research Service report put at 42 aircraft — including four F-15E Strike Eagles, one F-35A, and 24 MQ-9 Reaper drones — before the April 8 ceasefire. What has been lost since the ceasefire began is classified.

Trump announced the helicopter went down in the same post in which he said an Iran deal is “two to three days away” — the same timeline he offered last week, and the week before that.

“Very complex situation, but we’re getting close. The pilots are fine. We will have a deal soon.”

The Strait of Hormuz has been a consistent flashpoint throughout the ceasefire period. The ceasefire declared April 8 has since included US strikes on Iranian radar facilities, Iranian ballistic missile launches at US bases in Kuwait, a drone shootdown, and now a downed helicopter. Neither side has formally declared the ceasefire over. Both sides have been fighting within it.

Iran suspended peace talks last week after Israel resumed strikes in Lebanon. The talks resumed — quietly, without announcement — over the weekend in Qatar, according to two sources familiar with the negotiations. Whether they are still active as of Tuesday is unclear.

The price of crude oil rose 1.4% on news of the helicopter crash before settling back. Gas nationally remains at $4.55 — up from $2.98 before the war began on February 28.