More than one year later, the official investigation into the cause of the deadly military helicopter crash that killed five Marines is complete. It happened on Feb. 6, 2024, during the CH-53E Super Stallion’s return flight to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, where all of the Marines were based.
The servicemen were identified as:
- 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 1,140-page investigation was released more than one year later on Wednesday. According to the redacted version, released to the public, the crash was deemed “pilot error, which included the mishap pilot’s failure to maintain both a safe obstacle clearance and Visual Flight Rules (VFR) visibility requirements, resulting in a fatal controlled flight into terrain,” read the report.
The report continued, “the investigation identified several additional contributing factors, including the presence of moderate icing conditions and cloud layers along the mishap route that prevented a safe transit above factor terrain. The investigation further determined these deteriorating weather conditions should have been a signal to the mishap crew of TIGER 43 that a safe transit from Imperial County Airport was not feasible, despite the earlier forecasted and observed weather report that supported TIGER 43’s initial departure from Creech Air Force Base to Imperial County.”…