The Region : 5 Missing in Tustin Marine Copter Crash

Five Crew Members of a Marine Corps CH53E heavy transport helicopter from Tustin were declared missing after the fiery crash of the craft while on a routine training mission in the desert near the Salton Sea in Imperial County. Identity of the crew members, two officers and three enlisted men, were witheld pending notification of relatives. Lt. Col. Jerry Shelton a Marine Corps spokesman, said the big copter was assigned to Marine Corps heavy Helicopter Squadron 465 at Tustin. The helicopter, called the Super Stallion, is the largest helicopter in the free world and can carry up to 55 combat troops or 16 tons of equipment. The crash occurred over the Salton Sea Test Range in the desert. Since 1982, the helicopter has been involved in six major crashes in which 19 Marines have been killed, 12 of then from squadrons based at Tustin. In October, the CH53E was forced to make a precautionary landing in a field at Irvine with no injuries. In May, 1985, a CH53D copter crashed off southern Japan with a loss of 17 lives. Last May, the helicopter was the target of a congressional investigation.