I was a C-130 Navigator in the Coast Guard for 10 years and stationed at Air Station Sacramento, Cal., the home of the above mentioned aircraft. We flew hundreds of various missions off of the coast of California every year. In that area, it is not unusual for more than one branch of the service to have aircraft flying at the same time. The flights are almost always at low altitudes and under VFR (Visual Flight Rules). It is unusual for there to be poor communication between branches and between the controllers on the ground. Somewhere, someone dropped the ball. Let’s pray that survivors will be found. Although the water temperature is fairly cold, it is survivable.
That would be Beaver Control. They are in charge of the airspace out there. I talk with them quite frequently. Unless they were flying VFR without Beaver knowing and had no contact with the aircraft which is highly unlikely. I believe someone at Beaver Control messed up, Sorry to read about this in my backyard. Hope they find them all, but it is very unlikely. Prayers for all. : (
Not unusual for crashes in that area
due to Military exercises but I agree this was odd.
Also the C-130 all the way from Sac when the Coast Guard
here does search and rescue in that area to off Baja
and even further.
I live a few miles from the Coast Guard Air Base here in San Diego. They sent CG CutterS out last night from here
along with Navy.
(CG does great work)
Thanks for your comments
Search continues for survivors of Coast Guard-Marines crash
By Jeanette Steele and Karen Kucher
SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITERS
October 30, 2009, updated 10:25 a.m., October 30, 2009
SAN DIEGO – The aviation division for Camp Pendleton and Miramar has suspended all flights through the weekend amid the continuing search for survivors of a Thursday night collision between a Coast Guard transport plane and a Marine helicopter off San Clemente Island.
Seven people were aboard the HC-130 Hercules that went down, and the AH-1 Super Cobra helicopter carried two pilots from Camp Pendleton. They crashed about 7:10 p.m., said Marine spokesman Maj. Jay Delarosa.
Rescue crews haven’t found any bodies or survivors, but have recovered some wreckage. Coast Guard and Marine officials said everyone in the crash was physically fit, had excellent survival equipment and knew how to handle water landings.
People generally can survive for roughly 20 hours based on the current weather and water conditions, Coast Guard officials said Thursday night. But during a news conference Friday morning, they stressed that it really depends on each individual’s stamina.
“We will continue searching. We believe there’s viability,” said Capt. Thomas Ferris, commanding officer of the Coast Guard sector in San Diego.
His service has four helicopters and three patrol boats scouring a 644-square-mile area.
On land, Coast Guard, Marine and Navy officials are trying to piece together how the collision occurred.
About 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Coast Guard plane 1705 left McClellan Air Park in Sacramento with seven crew members, said Coast Guard Lt. Randall Black.
It reached the San Diego coast around 4:45 p.m. to search for a rower who had been missing for two days after setting out in a 12-foot dinghy for Catalina Island. The plane flew over the San Clemente Island area based on estimates of where ocean currents may have taken the dinghy.
It was maintaining an elevation of 900 to 1,000 feet during its search operation.
Meanwhile, two CH-53 Sea Stallions took off at a still-unspecified time from Miramar Marine Corps Air Station. They met up along the San Diego coast with two Super Cobras that had departed from Camp Pendleton, and the combined group headed toward San Clemente Island for a training mission.
Authorities said they will listen to recordings from air traffic controllers to determine whether there was a distress call, and to gauge whether the Coast Guard crew was in contact with the Marine helicopters.
Weather conditions were good at the time, and the Hercules has radar warning systems. But Coast Guard officials said pilots are still ultimately responsible for following a “see and avoid” protocol because those systems aren’t perfect.
Based on the time of the crash, the Marines likely were wearing night-vision goggles, Delarosa said. It’s unclear whether the goggles might have affected the pilot’s visibility.
The four helicopters belong to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, which is headquartered at Miramar. The division’s leaders will use their three-day “operational pause” to talk with the rank and file about safety procedures and other issues.
Including Thursday’s collision, there have been three military helicopter crashes around San Diego County this year.
On May 5, two Miramar-based Marines were killed when their Super Cobra helicopter crashed in the Cleveland National Forest, about six miles east of Pine Valley.
An investigation showed that the accident stemmed from a transmission cover that wasn’t fully secured. The cover flew off during flight and struck the tail rotor, sending the aircraft plunging.
On May 19, five crew members of a Navy HH-60H Seahawk helicopter were killed when their aircraft crashed in the Pacific Ocean about 15 miles south of Point Loma. The cause of that incident has not been made public.