Survivors of Copter Crash Called ‘Lucky’

The pilot of the Navy aircraft that plucked Marines from stormy seas minutes after their Tustin-based helicopter went down near Ventura County said Thursday they were lucky to have ditched so close to a search and rescue base.

A ninth Marine remained missing and is presumed drowned. He was identified Thursday as Jeffrey B. Johns, 22, an avionics technician from Uniontown, Ohio.

Lt. Robert Moore said in a telephone interview from Pt. Mugu Naval Air Station that it took his crew in the Navy search and rescue helicopter only 17 minutes Wednesday to reach the Marines floating in the large orange raft three miles off Carpinteria. The helicopter went down during the worst winter storm so far this season, but Moore said it was not raining and the seas were moderate during the rescue.

“They were lucky they weren’t farther away than they were,” Moore said, adding that he figured they had less than an hour in the chilly waters before they suffered hypothermia. “There are a lot of remote areas to the north.”

The Marine CH-46 Sea Knight was on its way to Northern California from Tustin for “routine training” when it apparently developed engine trouble and ditched in the ocean.

Marine Capt. Betsy Sweatt declined to confirm reports that fire was reported in the helicopter engine minutes before it went into the ocean. “I just don’t have that information. The accident is being investigated,” she said.

Moore said the crippled aircraft was one of three helicopters flying to Monterey. He said another CH-46 flying in the formation dropped a large rubber life raft to Marines and continued on. A smaller AH-1 Sea Cobra hovered over the scene while the rescue was under way, Moore said.

Moore, 27, who has been a Navy pilot for six years, said the only trace of the aircraft when he arrived was debris such as clothing and first aid kits. Later, Coast Guard vessels recovered the rear ramp from the helicopter and a helmet.

Moore’s helicopter picked up six Marines from the raft, and a second helicopter from Pt. Mugu rescued the remaining two. They were flown to Oxnard Airport and taken by ambulance to nearby St. John’s Regional Medical Center. They were released Wednesday afternoon.

A hospital spokeswoman said Thursday that the most serious injury was a sprained ankle.

The crew and passengers in the helicopter were identified as pilot Capt. Steven Finch, co-pilot 1st Lt. Scott Harris, 1st Lt. Patrick Copland, and Jesse Wills, all from Marine Medium Lift Helicopter Squadron 161 at Tustin.

Others from the Camp Pendleton-based Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 367 were Gunnery Sgt. Stephen Dorniak, Lance Cpl. Bradford Barnett, Lance Cpl. Tad Still and Lance Cpl. Mark Morse.

Moore said the water was about 56 degrees at the time of the rescue and the soaked Marines dressed in their camouflaged fatigues “were really cold.” So cold, he said, that a member of the rescue team jumped into the water and helped the Marines into a rescue net that hoisted them to the helicopter hovering 60 feet above.

Moore said it took him about 30 minutes to get the six Marines from the raft into the helicopter. “I didn’t get to talk to any of them,” Moore said, “but one of them who I think was the aircraft commander gave me the thumbs up at the airport.”

The CH-46 was first introduced in the Marine Corps in 1965 and the Marine Corps expects the aircraft to reach the end of its service life in the 1990s. It was popular in Vietnam and flew in the Persian Gulf War. It is used to carry supplies and troops during land and amphibious assaults.

Moore’s rescue helicopter is itself a CH-46. “I think it is a great aircraft,” Moore said. “It is real flexible and can do things that other helicopters can’t.”