Cause of military crash still unclear
14 killed as 2 helicopters collide
May 10, 1996
Web posted at: 9:30 p.m. EDTFrom Correspondent Jamie McIntyre
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Pentagon said at least 14 American servicemen were killed and two remained hospitalized in critical condition following a collision between two U.S. Marine Corps helicopters taking part in massive military exercises in North Carolina early Friday morning.
The accident occurred in the middle of a mock invasion of North Carolina. It was the largest United States exercise in decades, involving more than 50,000 troops from the United States and Britain.
When dozens of helicopters are in the air at once, a commander's biggest worry is a mid-air collision. This sort of training is supposed to help soldiers learn to avoid such an accident. Civilians often underestimate both the value of such exercises and the danger involved. Even President Clinton admitted, "One of the things I confess I did not fully appreciate until I became president was how dangerous the day-in and day-out, the year-in and year-out work of our military, just training, just doing the defense of our country, is."
Night vision a factor?
Under a typical training scenario, the AM-1 Cobra gunship, with a crew of two, would have flown in first to practice suppressing enemy ground fire. Its maneuver would have cleared the way for the CH-46 Sea Knight, a twin rotor transport helicopter, which in this case was carrying at least 12 Marines, a Navy sailor, and an Army soldier.
It is not yet known why the choppers collided. As Maj. Steve Little of the U.S. Marines said, "The weather was clear. We had a half moon. I do not believe that weather was a factor, although I would not want to speculate or rule out any cause."
And neither helicopter has a record of safety problems. The Super Cobra is a top-of-the-line attack helicopter. However, sources say its pilots were wearing night vision equipment, which improves their ability to see in the dark, but can also cut down on peripheral vision.
An aging workhorse
The CH-46 has been the workhorse of the Marine transport fleet since the 1960s. Although they are considered safe, the aging choppers now require frequent maintenance.
The accident follows by a day the crash of a Sikorsky CH-53 heavy lift helicopter in Connecticut, which apparently suffered a mechanical malfunction. It also comes on the heels of a series of Harrier jump jet crashes which prompted the Marine Corps to ground all its aircraft for two days in March.
Safety statistics for all the Armed Service branches indicate that overall, military aviation has become safer over the last five years, even though twice as many Marines have died in aviation accidents in the past eight months as were killed in the previous two years. Since October of 1995, the beginning of the 1996 fiscal year, 19 Marines have died, most of them in this latest accident.
In some categories, there has been a slight statistical increase, but so far investigators have found no common thread to any of the recent high-profile accidents.
Marine Crash Statistics 1981-1996
Related stories:
- Helicopters collide at Camp Lejeune - May 10, 1996
- Pilot, officer safe after F-14 crash - April 17, 1996
- Navy orders all F14s to stop flying after another crash - February 22, 1996
- String of accidents plagues F-14 - January 30, 1996
- Squadron grounded during crash probe - January 30, 1996
- F-14 crashes in Nashville neighborhood - January 29, 1996
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