(DailyAnswer.org) – Five members of the United States Marine Corps aboard a helicopter that disappeared between Nevada and California have been confirmed dead. The cargo helicopter was caught in an exceptional storm of snow and rain in California when on a training mission from Nevada’s Creech Air Force Base to a station in the San Diego area. The helicopter was eventually found near the Pine Valley mountain community, roughly 45 miles from its planned destination.
The CH-53E Super Stallion aircraft vanished on February 6, and a search-and-rescue operation commenced the following day after it was reported to be long overdue. All five onboard were in their 20s and from the Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 361, Marine Aircraft Group 16, and the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing. They were stationed at San Diego’s Marine Corps air station Miramar, the helicopter’s destination.
The five onboard have been identified as Captain Jack Casey, 26; Lance Corporal Donovan Davis, 21; Sergeant Alec Langen, 23; Captain Benjamin Moulton, 27; and Captain Migel Nava, 28. Davis, of Olathe, Kansas, had only recently been promoted to the lance corporal rank on New Year’s Day.
Colonel James C Ford has said that efforts are underway to recover the remains of the marines and that this could take weeks because of the storm. The Marines have stated that they are investigating the cause of the crash, which remains unclear.
President Joe Biden expressed his condolences to the crew’s families, saying that he and First Lady Jill Biden are heartbroken by the loss and that they join the families of the deceased in grieving for five of the country’s greatest warriors. The President also reiterated that the Department of Defense was conducting an investigation.
One of the biggest helicopters in the military, the Super Stallion, has a questionable safety record, with other accidents raising serious concerns about the aircraft in recent years. Four people were killed in April 2018 when their CH-53E crashed while training near El Centro, California, and 12 marines were killed in 2016 when two of the Super Stallions collided over the ocean near Oahu in Hawaii.
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