Marine Aircraft Missing; Search Finds No Trace
A U.S. Marine Corps observation plane with two crew members aboard disappeared on a practice run over the Southern California desert Thursday, prompting a search that failed to turn up any sign of the aircraft by late Friday.
The OV-10A Bronco left Camp Pendleton at 11:30 a.m. Thursday and was due back three hours later, said 1st Lt. G.C. Browne, spokesman for the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing headquartered in El Toro. The aircraft was scheduled for a routine training mission near Twentynine Palms, Browne said.
The search for the plane, carrying a three-hour fuel supply, was being conducted over an area between Yuma, Ariz., and Twentynine Palms. Names of the pilot and an observer aboard the aircraft were not available.
The twin-engine, propeller-driven aircraft is a multipurpose two-seater used primarily for reconnaissance, including artillery and naval gun fire control. The last crash of an OV-10 Bronco was in December, 1987, in the desert near Palm Springs.
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