The report quotes pilot errors as the basic cause of helicopter crash, in which 5 marines were killed

San Diego (CNS) – Pilot error was the main cause of a helicopter accident, in which five marines in Mcas Miramar are based last year, as a Wednesday report was published by the Marine Corps.

The CH-53E helicopter, who wore the Marines, left the Creech Air Force Base in Indian Springs, Nevada, and went back to the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar when he crashed. The wreck was in Pine Valley the following day.

The report by the Marine Corps report says that the pilot of the helicopter did not “maintain both safe obstacle cleaning and the visibility requirements (Visual Flight Rules), which leads to a fatal controlled flight”.

Stormy weather that night was also a factor, but the report says that the crew should be aware that the weather conditions would prevent a safe flight. These conditions included “the presence of moderate icing conditions and cloud layers along the mischief route, which prevented a safe transit over the factor area”.

The marines who were killed in the crash were:

• Lance Cpl. Donovan Davis, 21, from Olathe, Kansas, a CH-53E helicopter crew boss
• Sgt. Alec Langen, 23, from Chandler, Arizona, a CH-53E helicopter crew boss
• Captain Benjamin Moulton, 27, from Emmett, Idaho, a CH-53E helicopter pilot
• Capt. Jack Casey, 26, from Dover, New Hampshire, a CH-53E helicopter pilot
• Capt. Miguel Nava, 28, from Traverse City, Michigan, a CH-53E helicopter pilot

The commander of the helicopter squadron, who was involved in the crash, was released Lieutenant Colonel Nicholas J. Harvey last November, although the Marine Corps does not indicate whether the crash played a role in its release.

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