Fallbrook
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Military investigators Thursday continued searching for what caused an AH-1 Cobra attack helicopter to crash during a routine night training flight near Camp Pendleton early Wednesday, killing two Marines fliers.
A Camp Pendleton spokesman, Gunnery Sgt. Dave Marriott, said it may be weeks before the cause of the crash is determined. He said it is still not known whether the pilot was wearing night-vision goggles, which are suspected of causing other military air crashes.
The dead Marines are Lt. Col. David A. Knott, 40, of David City, Neb., and Capt. Michael M. Vagedes, 27, of Centerville, Ohio. Marriott said that Vagedes had served in the Gulf War, but he didn’t know whether the aviator flew in combat.
The Cobra, a heavily armed, jet-powered craft, crashed at 12:40 a.m. Wednesday in a hilly area at the Naval Weapons Station near Fallbrook.
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