The Region - News from Jan. 23, 1987

A Tustin-based Marine Corps CH-53D Sea Stallion helicopter crashed on a training mission in the desert 18 miles northwest of Yuma, Ariz., but its four crewmen survived. A Yuma Marine Corps Air Station spokesman said two of the crew members were hurt seriously and flown to the base dispensary. But he said the other two “were walking around and in good shape.” The chopper crashed as it was circling another Sea Stallion that had made an emergency landing on the desert after trouble with its hydraulic system, the spokesman said. Both craft were stationed in Tustin. Cause of the crash has not been determined. Several similar Marine Corps helicopters have crashed since 1984 and a congressional investigation is under way.