Crash of Marine Helicopter Near Pendleton Investigated

Accident investigators Thursday were trying to determine why a Marine Corps CH-46E Sea Knight helicopter clipped an abandoned 150-foot fire observation tower in the Cleveland National Forest near Camp Pendleton seconds before it crashed Wednesday.

The four crew members aboard walked away with minor injuries. They were flown to the Camp Pendleton hospital by helicopter where they were treated and released, Marine officials said.

The crew was identified as Capt. Thomas M. Murray, 31, pilot; 1st Lt. Clarence S. Talamantes, 29, co-pilot; 1st Lt. Charles A. Johnson, 26, observer, and crew chief Cpl. Todd E. Valdez, 29. They are stationed at the Tustin Marine Corps Air Station.

A spokesman at the Cleveland National Forest said Thursday that the helicopter struck the top of the tower seconds before it crashed. The tower, which the spokesman said is no longer in use, is located at the top of Margarita Peak. The area, although national forest land and not on Camp Pendleton, is used for Marine training.

Marine Corps spokesman Cpl. Kent Fletcher said Thursday that a team of investigators from the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station had been dispatched to the accident site. He said they were were investigating whether the helicopter clipped the tower before it crashed.

There was no fire following the crash, Marine officials said.

The CH-46 was first developed in 1959, and more than 1,000 have been made by Boeing Vertol. The helicopter, which cost $3.7 million in 1975, is capable of carrying 25 combat troops at a speed of 168 m.p.h.

Marine officials said they could not pinpoint the cost of damage to the Sea Knight in Wednesday’s crash.