Night vision safety glasses, weather factors in the Marine -Helo crash Probably

The crash of a Marine Corps helicopter last year, in which five service members were killed, was ultimately caused by pilot errors, but the use of night vision glasses and unsafe flight conditions were probably also factors, as can be seen from an investigation report obtained from the Associated Press.

The CH-53 superstallion crashed on February 6, 2024 during a late night flight when he met a mountain on the way back to the Air Station Miramar near Pine Valley, California.

The investigators found that several factors probably led to the crash. But as with several earlier accidents of military aviation, the investigators had to make some assumptions, since the CH-53 was not equipped with a flight data recorder that could survive a crash.

The boundaries of night vision glasses were also identified as a potential factor for the fatal collision of a Black Hawk helicopter of the army and a passenger jet near the Reagan Washington National Airport in January, in which 67 people were killed. The protective glasses can reduce the ability of a pilot to determine the distance and can be deteriorated by weather or light pollution.

The Marine helicopter flew under icing conditions with a low cloud cover, which covered the mountainous area along the flight path. The crew used night vision glasses, which probably did not give them the clear picture that was necessary to avoid falling into the site, the investigators found.

The precipitation and the clouds probably degraded the performance of the glasses and gave the crew a false feeling that they retained the safe distances required in flight, as the investigators stated.

The pilot and crew boss “most likely believed that they would be legally and at their level of comfort,” said the investigators.

Ultimately, however, the investigators found that the pilot's failure to avoid the terrain was the main cause of the crash. They also found that the commander's officer, who was freed from a duty to lead due to a loss of trust, would not have to fly the crew.

The super hungry disappeared during the night flight on the way back to Miramar from the Creech Air Force Base. The helicopter was discovered in the morning near the Pine Valley mountain community.

All five marines on board were killed in the crash: Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Donovan Davis, 21, from Olathe, Kansas; Sgt. Alec Langen, 23, from Chandler, Arizona; Captain Miguel Nava, 28, from Traverse City, Michigan; Captain Jack Casey, 26, from Dover, New Hampshire; and captain Benjamin Moulton, 27, from Emmett, Idaho.

In the interviews contained in the report, several members of the squadron said that the crews had been stretched thinly because their unit had to fly additional missions to compensate for the months of the V-22 fishing fleet of last year.