Military plane, helicopter collide off California

Discussion

October 30, 2009

Anonymous The News Courier Fri Oct 30, 2009, 10:57 AM CDT

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The U.S. Coast Guard and Navy were still hoping Friday to find survivors of a collision between a Coast Guard plane carrying seven people and a Marine Corps helicopter carrying two off the Southern California coast.

The crash was reported at 7:10 p.m. Thursday, about 50 miles off the San Diego County coast and 15 miles east of San Clemente Island, Coast Guard spokeswoman Petty Officer Allyson Conroy said.

A pilot reported seeing a fireball near where the aircraft collided, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said, and the Coast Guard informed the FAA that debris from a C-130 had been spotted. The Coast Guard plane that crashed was a C-130.

The Coast Guard crew members had survival gear onboard their aircraft, including exposure suits that could have allowed them to survive in the water for hours, Petty Officer Henry Dunphy said Friday from San Diego.

“We’re hoping to find survivors,” he said. “We’re not ruling that out.”

At least seven Coast Guard and Navy ships and several helicopters continued a search that ran overnight under a bright moon in calm seas.

“We’ve pretty much thrown everything we have at it right now,” Dunphy said.

The Coast Guard plane was based in Sacramento and was on a search-and-rescue mission when the collision occurred, Dunphy said. He did not have details of the mission.

The AH-1W Super Cobra helicopter was on a training mission when it went down, said Cpl. Michael Stevens, a spokesman for the Miramar Marine Corps Air Station.

The Cobra and its crew are part of Marine Aircraft Group 39, based at Camp Pendleton, and the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, which is headquartered at Miramar, Stevens said.

San Clemente Island is the southernmost of the eight Channel Islands located 68 nautical miles west of San Diego. The Navy has owned and trained at San Clemente Island since 1934, according to the island’s Web site. Naval Air Station, North Island is responsible for the island’s administration.

Earlier this week, it was an AH-1 Cobra attack helicopter that collided with a UH-1 helicopter over southern Afghanistan, killing four American troops and wounding two more, a Marine spokesman said.

Text Only

State and Nation

Man in crane at Texas college says he's armed
Police say the man climbed the 150-foot crane late Monday morning.

May 28, 2012
Obama to honor fallen troops on Memorial Day
The president was to participate in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, and then commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

May 28, 2012
Dragon arrives at space station in historic first
Astronauts Donald Pettit and Andre Kuipers used the space station's robot arm to snare the Dragon after a few hours of extra maneuvering.

May 25, 2012
U.S. forecasters: 9 to 15 storms in hurricane season
Though this season isn't expected to be as busy as last year's above-average season, federal officials warned coastal residents to start stocking up on hurricane supplies and forming evacuation plans anyway.

May 24, 2012
Alabama students below national average in reading
May 24, 2012
Alabama 10th highest in rate of injury deaths
May 24, 2012
Gen .Wheeler's Pond Spring home reopens Saturday
May 24, 2012
State memorial to War on Terror victims updated
May 24, 2012
Seafood industry fighting for life on coast
May 24, 2012
Military leaders, Clinton push for sea treaty
The United States is the only major nation that has refused to sign the treaty, which has been endorsed by 161 countries and the European Union.

May 23, 2012
More State and Nation Headlines

State and Nation

Search Results

Discussion

Military plane, helicopter collide off California

Will your family take a summer vacation this year?

Site Map

Contact Us