via FoxNews...
Wow.Marine Helicopter Crashes at Camp Pendleton
Published July 06, 2011| Associated PressCAMP PENDLETON, Calif. – A Marine Corps helicopter crashed Wednesday afternoon at the sprawling coastal base of Camp Pendleton, injuring the six personnel aboard.The helicopter belonging to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing at Camp Pendleton went down at about noon in the northern section of the San Diego County base, said 1st Lt. Maureen Dooley, a spokeswoman at the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. The section is a remote mountainous area where the Marine Corps conducts air trainings.Officials didn't immediately release details about the injuries, or say whether any were life-threatening.At least three of the injured were taken to nearby Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla in San Diego, about 30 miles south of the base, hospital spokeswoman Lisa Ohmstede said. She said she also couldn't discuss their injuries and she didn't know what other hospitals took in patients from the crash.Wednesday was sunny and hot in the county so it was unclear if weather played a role. Dooley said there will be an investigation into the cause of the incident.The UH-1Y helicopter, known as a Yankee Huey is a modernized variant of the decades-old UH-1 design by Bell Helicopter. Among survivability features on the UH-1Y are "crashworthy" crew seats and fuel tanks, according to a description of the aircraft on the Bell Helicopter website. The UH-1Y is described as a medium helicopter with two engines and one four-bladed main rotor.
They've barely hit the Fleet and we've already lost one. Thank goodness no one was killed.
UPDATE:
I spoke too damn soon. Unfortunately Military.com is reporting that one Marine died in this crash. Many don't realize it but our first year in Iraq, more service members died from training than in combat. Military life can be a bitch.
Given the AO, I would speculate there is a good possibility this was simply pilot error / wind squall related rather than a mechanical failure. So unfortunate but hopefully not the start of a fiasco; investigation / grounding / Congressional review et all
ReplyDeleteya...but its gonna be a career lost and hopefully thats it. i have to put this out there.
ReplyDeletea Marine General was talking about Marine Aviation putting up a Special Ops Wing. i'm wondering if that thinking is filtering into the thinking of some of the pilots and the way they fly.