2 Marines Killed in Copter Crash Near Caspers Park

Two Marines based at Camp Pendleton were killed Friday afternoon when a helicopter crashed in a remote, mountainous area of the Cleveland National Forest during a routine training mission, a Marine Corps spokesman said.

The two-seat AH-1T Cobra attack helicopter crashed in the rugged San Juan Hot Springs area, starting a fire, said Lt. Col. Jerry Shelton of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing at the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station. The cause of the crash has not been determined.

The helicopter, part of the wing’s 39th Marine Air Group based at Camp Pendleton, was on its second “local routine training mission” of the day when it crashed, Shelton said.

The names of the two victims were withheld pending notification of relatives.

The crash was discovered after the Orange County Fire Department received a phone call reporting smoke in the area and notified the U.S. Forest Service about 3:15 p.m.

There are no roads in the immediate area, about three miles off the Ortega Highway in the canyons east of San Juan Capistrano near Ronald W. Caspers Regional Park. U.S. Forest Service crews were transported by helicopter to the site and they discovered the Marine aircraft when they arrived, said Edward McChesney, a Forest Service dispatcher.

Friday night, one body had been retrieved from the wreckage. The other body was to be left at the site overnight and was scheduled to be removed this morning, Shelton said. The helicopter wreckage “was pretty well mangled,” he added.

Rescue efforts were halted as darkness set in.

“There’s no way for us to get in there tonight,” Marine Sgt. Thomas Knower said near the scene. “We’re headed back to El Toro for further instructions.”

Marines set up an overnight camp near the crash site and were to try to retrieve the second body at dawn, Shelton said.

Training Runs

Shelton said “quite a few” training runs are conducted by the helicopter wing in the area every day.

The helicopter that crashed was manufactured by Bell Helicopter Textron and is a variant of the H1-J helicopter that was introduced in 1965. It carries a pilot and gunner, Shelton said. The craft has a narrow, 38-inch fuselage and stub wings on the sides to carry missiles or rocket packs.

The helicopter that crashed carried no weapons, Shelton said.

The fire caused by the crash had been extinguished by 7:30 p.m. Friday, McChesney said. The California Highway Patrol placed flares around the San Juan Hills Fire Station, but Ortega Highway remained open Friday night, Knower said.

Times staff writer Ray Perez contributed to this story.