Marines Identify Victim of Desert Copter Crash : Military: Investigators continue to search for a cause of the accident, which occurred on a routine training flight.

A Tustin-based Marine Corps staff sergeant killed in a helicopter crash about 15 miles southeast of the Salton Sea during a routine training mission was identified Sunday as a veteran crew chief who had received numerous decorations.

Staff Sgt. James R. Andrews, 31, of Los Angeles was killed Saturday when the CH-53D Sea Stallion he was riding in crashed in a remote part of the rugged Imperial County desert, said Master Sgt. Steve Merrill, a spokesman for the Tustin base.

Andrews, an expert trouble-shooter for the two-engine troop carrier, was not part of the helicopter’s five-man crew, but was riding as a passenger, Merrill said.

Initially, the Marine Corps had reported that the five crew members were injured in the crash that destroyed the helicopter. But Merrill said that after examination at the El Centro Naval Air Station, crew members were found to be shaken, but unhurt.

The uninjured crew members were flown four hours later to the Tustin facility, where they were interviewed by crash investigators.

Officials identified the crewmen as: Capt. C.E. O’Connor, the pilot; 1st Lt. M.A. Lowe, the co-pilot; Staff Sgt. D.G. Arriola, the crew chief, and Lance Cpls. D.C. Cobor and R.M. Waggy.

“They are already home and with their loved ones,” Merrill said.

Marine crash investigators were still unable Sunday to determine the exact cause of the crash. Merrill said the crash site near Superstition Mountain, a craggy peak of bare rock between the Salton Sea and El Centro, has been cordoned off while investigators gathered evidence.

“Knowing the exact circumstances is all part of the investigation, including why one person died and why five others weren’t even hurt,” Merrill said.

Merrill said Marine Corps officials were making funeral arrangements with Andrews’ wife, Nyla. A memorial service for the decorated 14-year-veteran was to be scheduled for later in the week.

Andrews, who joined the Marine Corps in December, 1976, earned 10 medals, including four Sea Service Deployment Ribbons, a Navy Unit Citation, a Humanitarian Service Award and a Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal, which is awarded to Marines who are involved in military action, according to his service record.

Merrill did not know if Andrews’ medals were awarded for combat duty.

“He has seen more than the average Marine,” Merrill said. “There are only so many (Marines) that are involved in units that get those types of awards.”

The helicopter was en route to its base in Tustin when it experienced mechanical problems and finally crashed about 2 p.m. Saturday.

The chopper, attached to the Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 363, Marine Aircraft Group 16, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, was left at the scene while investigators pored over the debris for clues.

“It was a definite crash, not just a hard landing,” Merrill said.

The crash was the 19th involving a Sea Stallion helicopter since 1980. More than 80 servicemen have been killed in CH-53D accidents since 1984.

In Westmorland, a tiny settlement near the crash site, 73-year-old Chuck Havens stared out the window of his dusty filling station and pointed toward Superstition Mountain, explaining how the sky is often dotted with the high-flying helicopters that do maneuvers in the unpopulated desert of Imperial County.

“They go in that direction, over there,” Havens said, squinting into the afternoon sun.

He and other longtime Westmorland residents were not surprised to learn about the crash. They remembered another military helicopter crash that occurred in the area about a year ago.