Marine Missing, 8 Rescued After Copter Crashes

One Marine was missing Wednesday after eight others were pulled from the chilly waters of the Pacific Ocean off Carpinteria when their helicopter’s engine caught fire and lost power, authorities said.

Coast Guard officials said a sea and air search by a helicopter and two boats for the missing Marine continued until nightfall, and then was abandoned.

“The guy who’s missing had a small, inflatable life jacket,” said Coast Guard Petty Officer Michael Dooley.

“We found a debris trail and we felt if there was any chance of his surviving, we would have found him,” Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Reid Cristino said.

Marine officials declined to release the name or hometown of the missing Marine, who was stationed at the Marine Corps Air Station in Tustin in Orange County, until his relatives were notified.

No further search operation was planned for today, he said. Coast Guard vessels recovered the helicopter’s ramp and a helmet in the two-foot waves, but the main fuselage was missing, he said.

The mishap occurred about two miles offshore about 10:25 a.m. when one of three military helicopters lost power and was forced to “make a controlled landing,” said Marine Capt. Betsy Sweatt.

“It was not a crash; it was a controlled set-down initiated by the pilot,” Sweatt said. “I know that it sank.”

According to the Coast Guard, an engine fire broke out as the helicopter was coming down.

The eight survivors, all wearing life vests, were plucked from the choppy 56-degree water by two search-and-rescue helicopters from the Point Mugu Naval Air Station.

The Marines had been in the water for about 20 minutes, said base spokesman Harry Lee.

“The crew called our approach control at 10:25 a.m. and the pilot said he was making a controlled landing in the ocean, which meant he was going in,” said Bob Hubbard, another Point Mugu spokesman.

The eight Marines were flown to Oxnard Airport and then taken to St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Oxnard, where they were treated in the hospital’s emergency room.

“All are fine,” Lee said. “One has a slight ankle injury.”

Hubbard said the injured Marine kicked the window out of the helicopter during its evacuation.

None of the eight rescued Marines would speak with reporters. Sweatt said their names would not be immediately released.

The accident occurred as a severe winter storm was lashing the area. But military officials said they did not know if the helicopter went down because of the storm.

The downed helicopter was one of three participating in a training flight from Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 161 at the Tustin base. Coast Guard officials said their destination was Monterey, Calif.

The helicopters included two CH-46E Sea Knights, including the one that went down, and an AH-1W Cobra, said Sweatt, a public affairs officer at the Marine Corps Air Station at El Toro, which oversees the Tustin unit.

The twin-rotor helicopter has been a Marine and Navy transportation workhorse and was used extensively for rescue operations during the Vietnam War.