A search continues for five US Marines whose military helicopter was found in Southern California’s Pine Valley this week after it did not arrive at a San Diego base as scheduled.
The Marines were on a training flight aboard a CH-53E Super Stallion on Tuesday night – flying from Creech Air Force base near Las Vegas to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego – but they eventually were “reported overdue,” a Marine Corps unit said Wednesday.
Civil authorities found the helicopter around 9 a.m. PT Wednesday in Pine Valley, a mountainous area some 30 miles east of the San Diego station, the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing said. The condition of the helicopter was not immediately disclosed.
The CH-53E is a heavy-lift helicopter that can move troops and equipment and carry as much as 16 tons of cargo, according to the US Navy. The Marines who were aboard the craft are assigned to Heavy Helicopter Squadron 361, Marine Aircraft Group 16, Marines Capt. Stephanie Leguizamon said.
The Marine Corps was managing the search for the crew in coordination with the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department and other agencies, the Marines said.
Winds were gusting up to 20 mph Tuesday evening near Pine Valley, and they likely were stronger at higher elevations. Radar indicates a heavy band of precipitation swept through the area between 10 p.m. Tuesday and 4 a.m. Wednesday, with rain at lower elevations and snow at higher elevations.
A CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter taxies in 2023 at Inyokern Airfield, California. – Lance Cpl. Jennifer Sanchez/US Marine Corps/File
The aircraft’s last ping was recorded at 11:20 p.m. Tuesday, Cal Fire San Diego spokesperson Mike Cornette told CNN on Wednesday.
Super Stallion helicopters have been involved in several wrecks over the past decade, at least two of them fatal.
In 2016, 12 Marines were killed when two CH-53E helicopters collided during a night training exercise off Hawaii – a crash military investigators attributed to pilot error. Two years later, four crew members were killed when a Super Stallion crashed during a training mission near El Centro, California.
The outcome of another incident that occurred after a training exercise in Djibouti was considered a “miracle at sea:” 25 Marines and Navy sailors survived when a CH-53E crashed in 2014 as it tried to land on an amphibious transport dock at sea.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
CNN’s Dakin Andone and Monica Garrett contributed to this report.
For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
News Related-
The best Walmart Cyber Monday deals 2023
-
Jordan Poole took time to showboat and got his shot blocked into the stratosphere
-
The Top Canadian REITs to Buy in November 2023
-
OpenAI’s board might have been dysfunctional–but they made the right choice. Their defeat shows that in the battle between AI profits and ethics, it’s no contest
-
Russia-Ukraine Drone Warfare Rages With Dozens Headed for Moscow, Amid Deadly Winter Storm
-
Trump tells appeals court that threats to judge and clerk in NY civil fraud trial do not justify gag order
-
Can Anyone Take Paxlovid for Covid? Doctors Explain.
-
Google this week will begin deleting inactive accounts. Here's how to save yours.
-
How John Tortorella's Culture Extends from the Philadelphia Flyers to the AHL Phantoms
-
Tri-Cities' hatcheries report best Coho return in years
-
Wild release Dean Evason of head coaching duties
-
Air New Zealand’s Cyber Monday Sale Has the 'Lowest Fares of 2023' to Auckland, Sydney, and More
-
NDP tells Liberals to sweeten the deal if pharmacare legislation is delayed
-
'1,000 contacts with a club': Tiger Woods breaks down his typical tournament prep to college kids in fascinating video