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thedrifter
08-13-09, 06:20 AM
Report pins Super Cobra crash on loose part
The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Aug 12, 2009 21:40:01 EDT

SAN DIEGO — The Marine Corps says two Marines who died in a helicopter crash in San Diego County forgot to tell mechanics about a loose cowling that struck the tail rotor.

The Super Cobra crashed May 5 in Cleveland National Forest.

The Marines say the aircraft was inspected at the El Centro Naval Air Facility that day. A mechanic only partially secured the transmission cowling because he thought the chopper would be grounded overnight.

Instead, the pilot, Capt. Jessica Conkling, flew back to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif. She and 1st Lt. Aaron Cox didn’t tell mechanics making another repair about the cover, which came off in flight. Both died.

The Marine report was issued Tuesday under a Freedom of Information request from the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Ellie

thedrifter
08-13-09, 06:21 AM
Corps: 2 dead in Calif. Super Cobra crash
The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday May 7, 2009 21:42:16 EDT

ALPINE, Calif. — A Marine Corps helicopter crashed in a remote section of a Southern California forest, killing its two experienced pilots, authorities said Wednesday.

The AH-1W Super Cobra helicopter from the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing crashed shortly before midnight Tuesday in the Cleveland National Forest in eastern San Diego County, killing the only two people on board, Marine Corps Air Station Miramar said in a statement.

The pilots were part of an air-combat unit that was preparing to go overseas, said Maj. Jay Delarosa, a Marine Corps spokesman. The helicopter was carrying live ordnance.

"To get to this level, these Marines have been through extensive, in-depth, very serious training," Delarosa said. "They were at the top of their game."

The victims' names were withheld pending notification of their families, Delarosa said. He didn't know from where the helicopter departed or if the pilots reported problems in flight.

The pilots belonged to the Medium Helicopter Squadron 166 in the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit. The AH-1W is a two-seat, twin-engine attack helicopter that can be armed with cannon, rockets and guided missiles.

The crash set off a one- to two-acre fire, said Captain Daryll Pina of the California Department of Forestry. Fire crews, fearing explosions, waited for the fire to burn itself out before approaching the wreckage, Pina said.

A Defense Department accident investigation team was on the scene, Pina said.

Ellie