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The helicopters that collided — an AH-1W “Cobra” and a UH-1Y “Huey” — were conducting routine training operations around 8 p.m. Wednesday in a remote area of the Yuma complex, the Marine Corps said in a statement Thursday. Both helicopters belonged to the the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing.
The complex covers airspace and lands in southwestern Arizona and southeastern California, including the Chocolate Mountain Aerial Bombing and Gunnery Range in California. The Associated Press reported that the two helicopters crashed in the Chocolate Mountains.
Such training accidents are relatively rare. In July a UH-1Y “Huey” crashed at Camp Pendleton, Calif., killing one Marine and wounding five others. At the time, Marine officials said the crash was believed to be the first one involving the UH-1Y since it joined the Marine Corps inventory in 2008.
Identities of the Marines in Wednesday’s crash will be withheld until next of kin have been notified.
The incident is currently under investigation, a Marine press statement said.
Six of the Marines were assigned to a unit at Camp Pendleton, Calif., part of 3rd Marine Air Wing based at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif. One Marine was based at Yuma. Their units have not been identified.
The Yuma-based Marine was a captain, instructor and pilot, according to Col. Robert Kuckuk, commander at MCAS Yuma.
The captain had “risen to the pinnacle of Marine aviation in his field,” Kuckuk said at news conference Thursday afternoon at MCAS Yuma.
Identities of the Marines will not be released until 24 hours after the next of kin has been notified.
The Cobra and Huey were both carrying explosives and were training together, along with at least two other aircraft. The Huey and Cobra collided 65 miles northwest of MCAS Yuma, Kuckuk said.
The crash site was in the Chocolate Mountain Gunnery Range, which is used for explosives training, Kuckuk said.
Aerial views of the crash Thursday afternoon showed several trucks amid the charred remains of the helicopters.
Capt. Staci Reidinger, director of public affairs at MCAS Yuma, said that the crash area is not a populated area.
Kuckuk said that the rugged desert mountain terrain “simulates Afghanistan very, very well.”
The Marines were likely using standard night-vision goggles during the mission. Kuckuk said that the goggles limit depth perception and don’t allow for a clear horizon.
“We train to those limitations ... we understand those risks. We take steps to mitigate those risks,” he said.
Typically the Cobra aircraft carries a pilot and a co-pilot and is used by the Marine Corps. The twin-engine aircraft has been used in combat in the Vietnam War by U.S. forces, as well as in Grenada.
The helicopter is known for its capability to operate during the day and night, in land- and sea- based operations, and in adverse weather conditions. Its ability to withstand desert conditions protected the aircraft during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.
Cpl. Steven Posy, a MCAS Miramar spokesman, said Thursday that the weather “was pretty mild last night.”
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