Marine Copter Crashes in Sea Off Pendleton; 4 Are Missing

A Marine helicopter based at Camp Pendleton crashed Wednesday night off the coast. The four people aboard were missing.

The crash occurred at 8:20 p.m. A search continued three hours later about 12 miles from the coast, but base officers would not say exactly where the UH-1 crashed or what caused it to plummet into the ocean.

A Camp Pendleton officer, who refused to give his name, would only confirm that the helicopter was assigned to the base but would not describe its mission.

On Sept. 4, two Air Force HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters crashed in the Nevada desert during a training exercise. All 12 people on board were killed.

The Vietnam-era UH-1, or “Huey” is made by Bell Helicopter Textron.

In March, the U.S. Army and National Guard grounded their fleets of more than 900 UH-1 helicopters until mechanics could find the cause of a common gearbox failure.

The Army already had placed strict limits on the Vietnam-era helicopters, including barring flights in clouds and over water.

The Army has studied the problem with the Hueys but still has not found the cause. According to an internal review, 22 “mishaps” related to the gearbox were reported between 1996 and 1998. None resulted in death.

In 1996, the Marine Corps called a two-day halt to all training flights after nine aircraft crashed that year, its worst rate in six years.