© Ryan Paul Galea
CALIFORNIA - February 6th an US Marine Corps (USMC) CH-53E with 5 Marines onboard went missing during a flight from Creech AFB to Miramar NAS. The helicopter is suspected to been lost near Cleveland National Forest, CA near Pine Valley. The search was limited due to weather, according to the station.
The USMC, San Diego County Sheriff's Department and the Civil Air Patrol are currently searching for the missing helicopter and Marines
The CH-53E involved is suspected to be s/n 164366 from Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 361 (HMH-361) of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, but the s/n isn't confirmed yet.
Below the complete statement from the 3rd MAW:
The U.S. Marine Corps is searching for five U.S. Marines assigned to Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 361, Marine Aircraft Group 16, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing. The Marines were flying a CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter from Creech Air Force Base to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar on Feb. 6, 2024, when the aircraft was reported overdue. The 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing is coordinating search and rescue efforts with the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department and the Civil Air Patrol. The most up-to-date information will be released as it becomes available.
[UPDATE]
“The aircraft was located by civil authorities in Pine Valley, California, at 9:08 AM PST on February 7, 2024. The 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing is managing search and rescue efforts through the Wing Operations Command Center and using ground and aviation assets to locate the aircrew in coordination with the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department and multiple federal, state and local agencies,” reads a Wednesday afternoon statement by the 3rd MAW.
The flightpath seen on ADSB, the last pinged location was at 06:43:06 ZULU time over the Cleveland National Forest at 5200ft and 132kts
© Eric Anstine © Alex Crail
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