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USMC/Combat Helicopter Association | Add your comments for this incident
Brothers Killed in Action in USMC Helicopters or while assigned to USMC Helicopter Squadrons in TRAINING LOSS - PREPARATION FOR COMBAT 851016 HMM-263 TRAINING LOSS - PREPARATION FOR COMBAT |
| Incident Date 851016 HMM-263 CH-46D - BuNo unknown - Impact with ocean after departure from carrier |
| [CREW] Wasko, John G. 1stLt Pilot HMM-263 26thMAU/USS Guadalcanal 851016 [PASSENGERS]
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News Article: Camp Lejeune, NC Marine Helicopter Crash, Oct 1985 MARINE 'COPTER DOWN IN SEA. DIVERS NEARBY -- TOO LATE TO SAVE 15 IN ATLANTIC. Jacksonville, N.C. (AP) -- A team of divers hovering overhead was able to "immediately" reach a helicopter that crashed into the ocean after taking off from a ship, but 15 Marines aboard died in the corps' second-worst aircraft accident, officials say. Four others were rescued Tuesday when their twin-rotor, Marine CH-46D "Sea Knight" helicopter with 19 people aboard, crashed and sank on takeoff from the USS Guadalcanal. "This is the second-worst aircraft accident in Marine Corps history," said Gunnery Sgt. John Simmons. "The worst was a CH-53D crash in the Sea of Japan" in May, in which all 17 people aboard were killed. The helicopter was participating in an exercise with the 26th Marine Amphibious Unit, he said. The CH-46 is the principal assault helicopter of the Marine Corps and also is used extensively by the Navy to carry cargo and passengers between ships and shore. "It's a very safe aircraft for us. It's real good. It's been in the inventory since Vietnam," Simmons said, adding he had no details of the crash. "It left the ship flying over the water and crashed," he said. Simmons said a search-and-rescue helicopter with divers aboard was in the air over the ship when the helicopter crashed early Tuesday, so divers were able to get to the wreckage "immediately." Simmons said 12 of the casualties were Marine troops aboard the helicopter and three others were crew members. Four Marines were pulled from the choppy waters around the Guadalcanal and one body was found. Navy and Marine divers searched for the 14 missing Marines, whose bodies were found Tuesday afternoon, Simmons said. The bodies were taken to the naval hospital at Camp Lejeune. The helicopter wreckage would be removed from the ocean floor and taken to either New River Air Station or Cherry Point Marine Air Station for examination by the Marie Aircraft Mishap Board, he said. "They will dismantle it and look at it with a fine-tooth comb." Early this morning, all the injured were in good condition at a medical dispensary aboard the Guadalcanal, said Sgt Pamela Vajner. The passengers and crew are based at Camp Lejeune and its New River Air Station, said Staff Sgt. Terry Ruggles, also of the Camp Lejeune public affairs office. The accident occurred not far from the Marine Corps' Onslow Beach, just east of Camps Geiger and Lejeune, where Marines practice beach landings, but the Marines said the ship's exact location wasn't known. LIST OF INJURED AND DEAD. Camp Lejeune, N.C. (AP) -- Here is a list of the dead and injured from Tuesday's helicopter crash off the North Carolina coast, as provided by Sgt. Pamela Vajner of the Camp Lejeune Public Information Office. Ages were not available. Dead: Marine 1st Lt. JOHN R. BLEE, Durant, Iowa. Marine Sgt. JOHN F. CARNEY, Glendora, Calif. Marine Pfc. CRAIG F. CARNLEY, Bay Minette, Ala. Marine Lance Cpl. LARRY L. DAY, Peoria, Ill. Marine Cpl. A. L. JONES, JR., Jamestown, R.I. Marine Staff Sgt. DAVID JONES, Beaumont, Tex. Marine Pvt. PURNELL JONES, Milwaukee, Wis. Marine 2nd Lt. JOHN B. KARNER, Eagle, Wis. Navy Lt. ROBERT L. LEDBETTER, chaplain of the 26 Marine Amphibious Unit, Norfolk, Va. Marine Cpl. CLIFF MOYER, Cement City, Mo. Marine Cpl. GREG C. REBER, Auburn, Pa. Marine Pfc. MICHAEL J. STUHLSATZ, Millstadt, Illinois. Marine First Lt. JOHN G. WASKO, pilot, San Diego, Calif. Marine Sgt. DIRK A. WITCHER, BelAir, Texas. Marine Pvt. JOHNNIE B. YOUNG, Cordele, Okla. Injured: Marine Sgt. W. J. BARBER, no hometown given, good condition. Marine Lance Cpl. MICHAEL A. GATTON, Columbus, Ohio, good condition. Marine Cpl. DANIEL E. NAPLES, Parma, Ohio, good condition. Marine Capt. KEVIN SPILLER, co-pilot, Columbus, Ohio, good condition. Source: Chronicle Telegram, Elyria, Ohio, 1985-10-16 Personal Recollection: Family Information: |
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