Navy Halts Search for Air Crash Victims, Debris

Officials have halted their search for bodies and debris from the midair collision last week of two Navy planes, and began the grim task of piecing together clues to determine what caused the worst naval aviation accident since World War II.

Officials have also released a complete list of the 27 crew members aboard the two P-3 Orion turboprop planes. A memorial service is scheduled in honor of the dead at their base, Moffett Naval Air Station in the San Francisco Bay Area, on Thursday--one week after the crash that claimed more Navy lives than Operation Desert Storm.

In combing the sea last week, Navy officials found fuel and debris from the crash, including a piece of a tail section, which was carried ashore by a Navy vessel. Rescue workers also found what they believed to be the remains of a human corpse. But, after examination at the Navy Hospital in San Diego, they were determined to belong to a sea turtle that had become separated from its shell.

Five Navy ships searched for survivors in the waters 60 miles southwest of San Diego and were joined by a Mexican minesweeper that offered assistance Friday. Navy planes from San Diego, as well as from Moffett Field, scanned the sea. By Friday night, the search for telltale remnants was halted.

“It represents a tremendous loss when you lose that many professionals, and we take each one of those losses very personally--it just emphasizes to us that what we do is a dynamic, difficult and dangerous business,” said Senior Chief Petty Officer Bob Howard, a spokesman for the Pacific Fleet’s Naval Air Force.

Officials released the names of 19 victims Friday afternoon. The other crewmen are:

Petty Officer 2nd Class Aviation Mechanic Ray D. Beckner, 29, of Elmwood, Neb.

Lt. Ronald L. Carmody, 27, of Tiverton, R.I.

Anti-submarine warfare Airman Brian M. Cerino, 21, of Saylorsburg, Penn.

Lt. (j.g.) Martin B. Cox, 27, of Oklahoma City.

Ordnanceman 3rd Class Christopher D. Davis, 20, Rapid City, S.D.

Hydraulics Technician 1st Class Jimmy W. Dyer, 31, Riverside.

Aviation Electronics Technician 2nd Class Michael L. Germeau, 22, Centralia, Wash.

Lt. Cmdr. Stephen A. Tisdale, 39, San Jose.