Irvine : Marine Helicopter Still in Field Awaiting Repair
A U.S. Marine Corps helicopter will remain in a farm field, where it made a precautionary landing because of a malfunction in its transmission, for at least another three to four days, a military spokeswoman said Wednesday.
It will take mechanics that long “and possibly longer” to repair and try to fly the CH-53E Super Stallion, Gunnery Sgt. Peg Cauley said.
The heavy-lift helicopter landed Tuesday afternoon in a strawberry field near the intersection of Bryan Avenue and Culver Drive after its pilot reported a vibration.
A malfunction in the aircraft’s main transmission forced the landing, Capt. Joanne Schilling said Wednesday.
Technicians for Sikorsky Aircraft, manufacturer of the Super Stallion helicopter, were assisting Marine Corps mechanics, Cauley said. By Wednesday, they had not decided whether the aircraft could be repaired on the field, or if it would have to be towed to El Toro Marine Corps Air Station.
The helicopter and its three crew members were returning to El Toro from a routine mission, military authorities said.
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