The five US Marines who died after their military helicopter crashed in a mountainous area in San Diego earlier this week have been identified.
Military officials identified the man as Lance Cpl. Donovan Davis, 21; Sgt. Alec Langen, 23; Captain Benjamin Moulton, 27; Captain Jack Casey, 26, and Captain Miguel Nava, 28.
The crew aboard were all killed when their CH-53E Super Stallion was hit by a storm and crashed about 45 miles east of San Diego on Tuesday.
“Our top priority right now is supporting the families of our fallen heroes, and we ask for your respect and understanding as they grieve,” said Lt. Col. Nicholas J. Harvey, commanding officer of HMH-361, on Friday.
“The Flying Tigers family stands strong and includes friends and communities who have supported our squadron during this challenging time.”
They are assigned to Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron Miramar 361, Marine Aircraft Group 16, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing.
All five men have decorated careers, including several National Defense Service Medals and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal among the group, US Marine Corps officials said Friday.
Moulton and Casey were promoted to captain last year.
This combo of images provided by the Marine Corps shows, from left, Capt. Jack Casey, 26, of Dover, NH, Lance Cpl. Donovan Davis, 21, of Olathe, Kan., Sgt. Alec Langen, 23, of Chandler, Ariz., Capt. Benjamin Moulton, 27, of Emmett, Idaho, and Capt. Miguel Nava, 28, of Traverse City, Mich. AP
Heavy weather likely contributed to the helicopter crash that claimed the lives of five US Marines returning to their base camp in California, aviation experts told The Post.
Kodey Bogart, an aviation expert and former US Army Black Hawk pilot, said the crew will be given a specific plan finalized with the Marine Corps’ internal flight operations department before they take off Tuesday night from Creech Air Force Base, just northwest of Las Vegas.
Crews from the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing were expected back at Miramar station in San Diego later that night.
A US military helicopter carrying five Marines went missing on a flight from Creech Air Force Base in Nevada to Miramar Air Station in California on Tuesday, February 6. 2024.
The “Pineapple Express” storm that brought unprecedented rain and snow across California has made flying conditions unstable and dangerous for the past few days, several aviation experts who spoke to The Post said.
“There are a couple of scenarios — first, they have a flight plan, but they think they’ll be able to get back and be on the ground before bad weather,” Bogart said. “They have the option not to move forward because the bad weather is moving very fast.
“If they were already in the air, they would have had to make a sudden decision to land because the situation was getting worse very quickly. The third option is that they decided to climb above the bad weather, but something went wrong.”
The helicopter was reported missing in the area north of Interstate 8 and Kitchen Creek Road, which is southeast of Pine Valley.
The wreckage of the helicopter was found near the Cleveland National Forest, which includes rocky terrain and the second highest mountain in San Diego County, Cuyamaca Peak, which reaches 6,512 feet.
Rescue personnel meet at a command center in Kitchen Creek, California. AP Aerial map view of Miramar Air Station, Calif. A US military helicopter carrying five Marines went missing on a flight from Creech Air Force Base in Nevada to Miramar Air Station in California on Tuesday, February 6. 2024. Google Earth
Cal Fire spokesman Mike Cornette told The Post the area where the helicopter wreckage was found was in a very steep area.
“They found a lot of snow,” Cornette said.
Cornette said the last known contact with the Super Stallion was at about 11:30 p.m. Tuesday because there was a “ping” reported by their dispatch.
US Marine Corps Captain Jack Casey. AP Alec Langen of Chandler, Arizona, was among five killed in the crash, according to family members. Caryn Langen US Marine Corps Capt. Miguel Nava. AP
On Thursday, family members of Sgt. Alec Langren identified the 23-year-old man as one of the Marines on board.
Officials with the Marines are still investigating the cause of the crash.
Langren’s mother, Caryn, told local NBC 7 her son followed in his father’s footsteps and is a proud Marine. The young sergeant just got married last month.
“Ever since he was three years old, he was like, ‘I want to do what daddy does,'” his father, Steven Langen, told ABC15. “I did the same thing. I was in the same helicopter, all the same from ’86 to ’95.”
Since the wreckage of the CH-53E Super Stallion was found 45 miles east of San Diego, it would not be in military airspace, Bogart said.
US Marine Corps Sgt. Alec Langen. AP
The Marine flight report should have indicated when the plane was expected to land, Bogart said. When an expected plane does not land within 10 to 20 minutes of the expected arrival time, it is protocol to notify the local agency, he said.
Another aviation expert, Michael R. Henderson, said if the Super Stallion wasn’t in military airspace when it crashed, it’s likely the plane was spotted by SoCal TRACON, which provides all radar air traffic control in Southern California.
SoCal TRACON covers 20 miles of airspace north of Burbank to the US/Mexican border and from San Bernardino to the Catalina Islands.
US Marine Corps Captain Benjamin Moulton. AP
Henderson also said since visibility may be poor the night Marine helicopters approach San Diego, it may be impossible to see less than three miles. Pilots are required to follow the Instrument Flight Rules plan when visibility is poor, he said.
“There is a high possibility that they communicated with the military or SoCal TRACON shortly before they went down,” Henderson told The Post. “Unfortunately, they either did not follow the set flight plan, or they had engine problems or other problems occurred that caused them to deviate from the flight plan.
“Once you climb a mountain, there’s something called ‘downswing’ or a huge pressure that sucks you into the canyon. That type of helicopter is big and powerful, but it doesn’t recover quickly.”
The CH-53E Super Stallion — the largest and heaviest helicopter in use in the US military — has been involved in several fatal crashes, according to USA Today.
A CH-53E Super Stallion, pictured, crashed outside of San Diego with five Marines on board on February 7, 2024. AP Rescue crews assisted in the search for the US. Marine Corps helicopter with five crew missing overnight, southeast of Pine Valley, San Diego, California. via REUTERS
The Super Stallion’s accident rate is more than double that of other Marine aircraft, Rich Martindell, a former Air Force aircraft accident investigator, told the publication.
The CH-53 averaged 5.96 accidents per 100,000 flight hours, while other helicopters averaged 2.26 per 100,000 hours, he said.
While Cal Fire got a “ping” at 11:30 p.m. Tuesday about the missing helicopter, rescue crews went to the scene at 2:20 a.m. Wednesday, Cornette told The Post.
A US Marine carries rescue equipment at a command center in Kitchen Creek, California AP
Bogart said it’s likely the rescue crews didn’t get out right away because of bad weather.
“They are more likely to come down in mountainous areas and it could be an incredible challenge and safety risk for emergency personnel to get there,” he said.
With Postal wire
Categories: Trending
Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
