A West Coast-based AH-1Z Viper attack helicopter crashed in a Southern California desert during a training flight on Thursday evening, the Marine Corps said.
One pilot was taken to Pioneers Memorial Hospital in Brawley, Calif., for treatment and was later confirmed dead, the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing said in a statement. The second pilot was taken to Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, where the pilot was in stable condition as of Friday afternoon.
The two-seat helicopter, belonging to the “Gunfighters’ of Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 369, crashed at about 7:05 p.m. local in a remote area called Imperial Gables, about 36 miles north of Yuma, Ariz., and 45 miles northeast of El Centro, Calif., the service said. The crew was flying a training mission in support of Marine Corps Weapons and Tactics Instructor Course 1-26, a seven-week course that runs through Oct. 26 and is hosted at Yuma Marine Corps Air Station…