Posted on 10/29/2009 10:22:08 PM PDT by VRWCTexan
BreakingNews San Diego media: 9 missing after collision of Coast Guard C-130 and Marine Cobra helicopter off the SD coast. BNO News working to confirm.
Praying
SAN DIEGO - The Coast Guard and Navy are responding to a mid-air collision between a Department of Defense helicopter and a Coast Guard airplane 15 miles east of San Clemente Island, Calif., Thursday evening.
At 7:10 p.m. the Navy reported to the Coast Guard that they observed what appeared to be a mid-air collision in the vicinity of San Clemente Island.
The Coast Guard responded by sending three Coast Guard cutters, and diverting an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter to the area to search for survivors. The Navy sent four vessels and multiple helicopters to aid in the search.
The Coast Guard and Navy are actively searching for survivors at this time
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Pray
Prayers for all concerned.
How does that happen. What kind of exercise puts those two aircraft, an attack helicopter and a long range surveillance plane, it such close proximity?
I was going to ask the same question
Prayers!!! Prayers!!!! Prayers!!!!!
There’s a Navy airfield - single runway - on San Clemente. I don’t even know if it’s still active - I haven’t been there since the early 90s. Maybe it has something to do with that.
NOT GOOD
Both aircraft would have a total of nine crew members, including two on the helicopter, said Ian Gregor, an FAA spokesman.
He said a pilot reported seeing a fireball about 7:10 p.m. near the suspected crash site. Earlier reports stated that a single Navy helicopter may have crashed.
A search-and-rescue operation was underway.
The Coast Guard cannot account for its plane, and the Marine Corps cannot account for the helicopter, Gregor said.
Both pilots were not talking to FAA air traffic controllers at the time of the collision, he said.
Here in San Diego we have the largest concentration of military. Major numbers of Marines and Navy.
San Clemente Island is off the NW coast of San Diego and is owned by the Navy.
Used for war games etc.
The Marine Chopers along with Marine Jets are based here at Marimar Marine Air Station, hedquarters of the 3rd air wing
also Camp Pendleton here with tens of thousands of Marines has Choppers based there also
I'm wondering if it was a Marine Cobra or a Navy H-60? The HSM/L squadrons conduct ASW training out on SCI. Additionally, there's a SEAL training area and a bombing range. I've been there a few times. I've never seen Cobras but that doesn't mean they couldn't be training out there as well. Lot's of live-fire exercises conducted out there.
Hmm... It's pretty quiet here on the NASNI seawall. Maybe I'll head out to the smoke pit and see what's up.
Prayers to all.
Would the Cobra have been out of MCAS Mira Mar or MCB Pendleton?
I just google mapped the island and found a runway on the central-northern side of the island. It looks horrible and unkempt from the map image.
Is there another one?
It's still very active. Half my command is out there right now (probably drinking at the Salty Crab until this happened). Metro flights take off every hour or so from here on NAS North Island.
Twitter reports signs of wreckage floating
see my post #10
I have on one of our local news stations now
here in San Diego They have found some debris
:(
A helo/airplane mid-air would probably be most catastrophic. The Navy is still looking for a T-34 lost of the coast of Texas just last night. It has not been a good 24 hrs for military aviation, and with the helo accident in Afghanistan this weekend, it's been a worse week. Most tragic. Let's pray for the best.
Near the northern tip I think I can see another runway under the thick clouds. barely.
No. That's the one, it's definitely on the north side of the island, right at the top. Drew says it's still very active.
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