Fatal crash of Marine chopper in Nepal blamed on weather, unfamiliar route

The helicopter crash that killed 13 people, including six Marines, during a humanitarian mission in Nepal last spring was “most probably” caused when the pilots decided to fly an unfamiliar route during bad weather, according to the Marine Corps.

Four of the Marines were from Camp Pendleton.

The Marine UH-IY Huey helicopter was rescuing Nepalese civilians who had been injured by the earthquake that struck their country in April. The chopper had picked up civilians from a mountainous village north of Charikot and was en route to Katmandu when it crashed.

“The chosen course required a brief period of unfamiliar terrain with unstable meteorological conditions,” according to a statement released Friday by the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force in Okinawa, Japan.

”... As they attempted to maneuver out of the weather conditions, they lost visual reference with the terrain and impacted the ground.”

The crew had probably opted for the shorter route to Katmandu “due to a real or perceived urgency in the condition of one or more of the embarked casualties,’ according to the statement.

The Marines killed were Capt. Dustin Lukasiewicz, 29, of Harlan, Neb.; Capt. Christopher Norgren, 31, of Sedgwick, Kan.; Sgt. Ward Johnson IV, 29, of Seminole, Fla.; Sgt. Eric Seaman, 30, of Riverside, Calif.; Cpl. Sara Medina, 23, of Kane, Ill.; and Lance Cpl. Jacob Hug, 22, of Maricopa, Ariz.

Four of the Marines were assigned to the Camp Pendleton-based Squadron 469. Medina and Hug were combat photographers based in Japan.

Also killed were two Nepalese army soldiers and five injured Nepalese civilians.

Squadron 469 was in the Philippines on a training mission when the unit and its aircraft were redirected to the relief mission in Nepal after the magnitude 7.8 quake on April 25, which killed more than 8,000 people.

A Marine investigation ruled out mechanical problems with the Huey as a cause for the crash.

“The pilots and crew were experienced professionals, medically fit for flight duties and equipped with the most technologically advanced utility helicopter,” according to the statement. “The investigation concluded that mechanical malfunction or maintenance malpractices were not contributing factors to the mishap.”

The statement was released the same week the six Marines were honored at a ceremony at the U.S. Embassy in Katmandu.

“The Marines and Nepalese soldiers aboard VEO1 showed uncompromising dedication to the humanitarian aid mission in Nepal,” the Marine statement said. “We celebrate their lives by remembering their courageous and selfless actions.”

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