Bodies Found in Ocean Near Marine Copter Wreckage

Officials said three bodies have been found on the ocean floor about 12 miles off the Southern California coast. They are believed to be those of a Marine helicopter crew that crashed last week.

The bodies, found over the weekend, had not been positively identified Monday, but Camp Pendleton officials said they probably were from the crew of four men who disappeared Sept. 16.

Wreckage of a UH-1 Huey helicopter that plunged into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Oceanside was found near the bodies, said Maj. Stephen Kay.

The helicopter crashed while performing night landings aboard the Navy ship Rushmore.

Monday, officials were bringing in equipment to retrieve the bodies. Kay said crews would continue searching for the fourth body.

The missing men were identified as Capt. Barry Fleming, 28, a pilot from Northbrook, Ill.; Capt. Robert Falkenbach, 27, a pilot from Virginia; Staff Sgt. Steven King, 28, a mechanic from Columbus, Miss.; and Sgt. Barry Coleman, 28, a crew chief from Baldwin County, Ala.

The cause of the accident is still under investigation, Kay said. He said he did not know the depth of the water where the bodies were found or any details of their location.

It was still not clear how close the helicopter was to the Rushmore when it went down or if there were any witnesses. Visibility was clear and the weather was calm at the time of the accident.

Officials said the men were trained to escape from an immersed aircraft, but the top-heavy helicopter sometimes flips upside-down in accidents and may have trapped the Marines.