The military says U.S. Marines aboard a helicopter that went down during stormy weather in the mountains outside of San Diego are confirmed dead. The miliary made the announcement early Thursday.
A Marine CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter flies during training at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego, Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024. A Marine Corps helicopter, like the one pictured, that had been missing with five troops aboard as an historic storm continued drenching California was found Wednesday morning, Feb.
7, 2024, in a mountainous area outside San Diego.FILE Marine Corps Air Station Miramar is shown on Aug. 25, 2023, in San Diego. San Diego County sheriff’s search teams were looking for a Marine Corps helicopter reported overdue early Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024. U.S. Marines wait to leave a command center, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024, in Kitchen Creek, Calif. A Marine Corps helicopter that had been missing with five troops aboard as an historic storm continued drenching California was found Wednesday morning in a mountainous area outside San Diego. U.S. Marines leave a command center, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024, in Kitchen Creek, Calif. A Marine Corps helicopter that had been missing with five troops aboard as an historic storm continued drenching California was found Wednesday morning in a mountainous area outside San Diego. A U.S. Marine carries rescue gear at a command center Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024, in Kitchen Creek, Calif. A Marine Corps helicopter that had been missing with five troops aboard as an historic storm continued drenching California was found Wednesday morning in a mountainous area outside San Diego. Rescue personnel meet at a command center, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024, in Kitchen Creek, Calif. A Marine Corps helicopter that had been missing with five troops aboard as an historic storm continued drenching California was found Wednesday morning in a mountainous area outside San Diego. 7, 2024, in a mountainous area outside San Diego. 7, 2024, in a mountainous area outside San Diego.FILE Marine Corps Air Station Miramar is shown on Aug. 25, 2023, in San Diego. San Diego County sheriff’s search teams were looking for a Marine Corps helicopter reported overdue early Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024. FILE Marine Corps Air Station Miramar is shown on Aug. 25, 2023, in San Diego. San Diego County sheriff’s search teams were looking for a Marine Corps helicopter reported overdue early Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024. U.S. Marines wait to leave a command center, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024, in Kitchen Creek, Calif. A Marine Corps helicopter that had been missing with five troops aboard as an historic storm continued drenching California was found Wednesday morning in a mountainous area outside San Diego. U.S. Marines wait to leave a command center, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024, in Kitchen Creek, Calif. A Marine Corps helicopter that had been missing with five troops aboard as an historic storm continued drenching California was found Wednesday morning in a mountainous area outside San Diego. U.S. Marines leave a command center, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024, in Kitchen Creek, Calif. A Marine Corps helicopter that had been missing with five troops aboard as an historic storm continued drenching California was found Wednesday morning in a mountainous area outside San Diego. U.S. Marines leave a command center, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024, in Kitchen Creek, Calif. A Marine Corps helicopter that had been missing with five troops aboard as an historic storm continued drenching California was found Wednesday morning in a mountainous area outside San Diego. A U.S. Marine carries rescue gear at a command center Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024, in Kitchen Creek, Calif. A Marine Corps helicopter that had been missing with five troops aboard as an historic storm continued drenching California was found Wednesday morning in a mountainous area outside San Diego. A U.S. Marine carries rescue gear at a command center Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024, in Kitchen Creek, Calif. A Marine Corps helicopter that had been missing with five troops aboard as an historic storm continued drenching California was found Wednesday morning in a mountainous area outside San Diego. Rescue personnel meet at a command center, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024, in Kitchen Creek, Calif. A Marine Corps helicopter that had been missing with five troops aboard as an historic storm continued drenching California was found Wednesday morning in a mountainous area outside San Diego. Rescue personnel meet at a command center, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024, in Kitchen Creek, Calif. A Marine Corps helicopter that had been missing with five troops aboard as an historic storm continued drenching California was found Wednesday morning in a mountainous area outside San Diego. Authorities say the CH-53E Super Stallion vanished late Tuesday night while returning to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego after training at Creech Air Force Base, northwest of Las Vegas. “It is with a heavy heart and profound sadness that I share the loss of five outstanding Marines from 3d Marine Aircraft Wing and the “Flying Tigers,” Maj. Gen. Michael J. Borgschulte, commander of 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, said in a statement.“To the families of our fallen Marines, we send our deepest condolences and commit to ensuring your support and care during this incredibly difficult time,” Borgshulte said. “Though we understand the inherent risks of military service, any loss of life is always difficult.” Efforts to recover the remains of the five have begun and an investigation into the crash is underway, according to the statement. The craft was discovered Wednesday morning near the mountain community of Pine Valley, an hour’s drive from San Diego.WHAT HAPPENED A CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter was returning from a training mission in Nevada when it disappeared Tuesday night. Civilian authorities searching on ground and by air located the aircraft just after 9 a.m. Wednesday near the mountain community of Pine Valley, about a 45-mile drive from San Diego. With rescuers having to battle through heavy snow, there was no word Wednesday night on whether they had reached the chopper or on the fate of the five people aboard. The Marines were flying from Creech Air Force Base, northwest of Las Vegas, where they had been doing unit-level training and were returning home to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego, defense officials said. The last known contact with the helicopter was at about 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, Mike Cornette of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection told CBS 8 news. That location was based on a “ping” reported to a Cal Fire dispatch center.The people aboard the aircraft haven’t been named but they were assigned to Miramar’s Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 361, Marine Aircraft Group 16, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, the military said in a statement. While it can carry dozens of people, the normal crew component for the Super Stallion is four: a pilot, copilot, crew chief, and mechanic/gunner, according to President Joe Biden was briefed on the missing Marines, said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who answered questions as the president flew to New York City for campaign fundraisers. “We’re watching this closely and again our thoughts are for the best,” National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said.The military was working with federal, state and local agencies, including the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Border Patrol, San Diego County Sheriff’s Department and the state Civil Air Patrol. But weather and rugged terrain made the task difficult. Pine Valley is at about 3,700 feet in elevation in the Cuyamaca Mountains, an area which saw as much 8 inches of accumulating snow within hours Tuesday night and early Wednesday and saw more falling Wednesday night, according to forecasters. The area includes San Diego County’s second highest mountain, Cuyamaca Peak, at 6,512 feet , and is also near the Cleveland National Forest, which covers 720 square miles with much of it steep, rocky and with limited trails.The CH-53E Super Stallion is the largest helicopter in the military and the Marines have used it for heavy-lifting duties around the world for more than three decades. More than 130 are in operation. Equipped with GPS, infrared radar and other equipment, the aircraft has performed “a full range of military combat operations in Beirut, Somalia, the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya,” according to About 99 feet long, the Super Stallion can move troops and equipment from ships to shore, ferry supplies and launch amphibious assaults. Nicknamed the “hurricane maker” because of the downwash from its three engines, the Super Stallion has a 50-mile range. It was designed to carry up to 55 troops or about 16 tons of cargo both inside and slung outside the cabin.Two CH-53E helicopters were used in the civil war-torn capital of Mogadishu, Somalia, in January 1990 to rescue American and foreign allies from the U.S. embassy.near El Centro, near the California-Mexico border, during a training mission. The Marine Corps ruled out pilot error for the accident. The victims’ families later sued two companies they alleged provided a defective part that they blamed for the crash. In 2005, a Super Stallion went down in a sandstorm in Iraq, killing 31 people on board. The accident, blamed on pilot error, was the single deadliest loss of U.S. troops during the war.
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