2 Marine Helicopters Crash Near Catalina : Aviation: Four injured crewmen are rescued by a fishing boat. Two missing men are still sought.

Two Marine Corps helicopters collided and crashed into the sea Monday while on maneuvers off Santa Catalina Island, and two of the six crew members from the aircraft were missing.

Four crew members were pulled from the sea by a fishing boat and were airlifted to Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center in Mission Viejo.

A hospital official said the four reported that they had managed to escape from the aircraft after they crashed into the water and had then inflated their life preservers. They set off flares that were seen by crew members of the fishing boat De Brum, which was 10 miles away.

Two of the injured airmen were reported to be in pain but were alert and in “excellent” condition, officials said. The other two, arriving at the hospital several hours later, sustained cuts and bruises in the crash, officials said.

None of the crew members were identified.

Cpl. Chris Cox of the public affairs office at the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station said the helicopters--a two-seat AH-1 Cobra and a larger UH-1N Huey, both from Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 367 at Camp Pendleton--apparently collided over the Pacific about 15 miles southeast of Avalon about 4:30 p.m.

Moments later, the Coast Guard said, the fishing boat crew spotted a distress flare and rushed to the area, which was littered with floating debris. Four crew members wearing life jackets were pulled from the water.

Coast Guard and Navy ships and three Coast Guard aircraft--two helicopters and a C-130 cargo plane--searched into the night for the missing crew members. Some of the searchers used night-vision goggles.

“We’ve found a lot of wreckage,” Coast Guard Petty Officer Michael Claeys said. “But there’s no sign of the missing Marines.”

Dr. Thomas Shaver, director of the trauma center at Mission Hospital, said one of the crew members nearly drowned. Another had multiple spinal fractures but did not appear to have suffered any permanent damage or paralysis, he said.

The men were spared more serious injury because of the use of restraints in the aircraft, Shaver said, adding that “you could see restraining marks on their bodies.”

Neither man could recall much about the accident, Shaver said. “They didn’t know what happened until they hit the water. . . . They are just happy to be alive,” he said.

The doctor said he expects both men to be hospitalized for at least several days. But his briefing for reporters at the hospital was cut short about 9:25 p.m. by the arrival of two more survivors, who were airlifted to Mission Hospital for treatment.

After a few minutes of consultation on the status of the other two crew members, Shaver told reporters that “they had a few cuts and bruises but they were in good spirits.” Both men would be released from the hospital within 24 hours, he said.

The helicopters involved in the collision are both designed for combat duty.

Formally known as the Iroquois, the Huey was used extensively during the Vietnam War as a transport and escort helicopter and is still part of the military’s active fleet today. The military’s first gunship, the Huey is a twin-turbo-powered chopper armed with two forward-firing M-60 machine guns. At least two were lost in the Persian Gulf War.

The jet-powered Cobra is a more offensive aircraft, designed to act in close coordination with ground troops at speeds of up to 141 m.p.h., taking out enemy positions and pursuing retreating targets. Its TOW missile system is fitted with a telescopic sight that enables the gunner to see in the dark.

Officials said Monday night that they did not know how the two helicopters collided.

The search for the two missing crew members was expected to continue until 1 a.m. today when a decision was to be made on whether to extend it further.

Cpl. Cox of El Toro said the two missing men could survive at sea if they were able to escape the helicopter’s cockpit. The men were equipped with bottles of oxygen, flares and life vests.

“If they managed to get out of the cockpit, they should be OK,” Cox said. “If they got trapped inside, there’s no telling.”

Times staff writers Leslie Berkman and Len Hall contributed to this report.