2 Camp Pendleton Marines Killed in Desert Copter Crash

U.S. military investigators were combing a crash scene in Imperial County’s rugged Chocolate Mountains Saturday to determine why a Marine Corps helicopter based at Camp Pendleton went down late Friday, killing the pilot and co-pilot and injuring three other crewmen.

The crash of the UH-1N Huey aircraft occurred at 9:25 p.m. Friday during a routine training mission, said Gunnery Sgt. Hal Wheeler, a corps spokesman in Yuma. There were no storms at the time and weather did not appear to be a factor in the desert crash, Wheeler said.

The mishap occurred in an unpopulated, fenced-off area that is a designated military bombing range, Wheeler said. An accompanying Marine helicopter witnessed the incident and called for assistance, Wheeler said.

The downed aircraft was carrying practice rockets and small-caliber ammunition when it went down at a site about 55 miles northwest of Yuma, just east of the Salton Sea, in the southwestern corner of California, the spokesman said.

The fliers were not wearing night-vision goggles, but Wheeler said that would not be unusual, even on evening flights.

The dead men were identified as Maj. Bob Maguire, the pilot, and First Lt. Tony Stancil, the co-pilot. Their ages and hometowns were not available.

All three crewmen, who were airlifted out of the crash site, were listed in stable condition at Yuma Regional Medical Center.

The helicopter and its crew were part of the Medium Light Attack Helicopter Squadron-367, which is based at Camp Pendleton.

The squadron has been on a routine training mission at the Marine Corps Air Station Yuma since July 20, the marine spokesman said. The Yuma deployment was scheduled to last through Friday.

Two of the wounded men were identified only as First Lt. Herb Moran and Sgt. Michael Becker. The identity of the third crewman was withheld pending notification of relatives. The ages and hometowns of the injured men were also not available.