The five U.S. Marines killed in a helicopter crash after departing an air base northwest of Las Vegas this week have been publicly identified.
All five were assigned to Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 361, Marin Aircraft Group 16, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, military officials said previously.
They were identified as follows:
- Lance Cpl. Donovan Davis, 21, of Olathe, Kansas, a CH-53E helicopter crew chief
- Sgt. Alec Langen, 23, of Chandler, Arizona, a CH-53E helicopter crew chief
- Capt. Benjamin Moulton, 27, of Emmett, Idaho, a CH-53E helicopter pilot
- Capt. Jack Casey, 26, of Dover, New Hampshire, a CH-53E helicopter pilot
- Capt. Miguel Nava, 28, of Traverse City, Michigan, a CH-53E helicopter pilot
The service members were on board a CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter that took off from Creech Air Force Base Tuesday night en route to an air base near San Diego.
Wednesday morning, the helicopter was found in Pine Valley, Calif. Military officials confirmed it had crashed.
Flight conditions were described as “white-out” and terrain as “rugged” by search and rescue officials. Weather reports indicated temperatures were near freezing and wind gusts were over 25 mph.