Family of the fallen Chandler -Navy reacts to results of the helicopter -Crash report

Chandler, AZ (Azfamily) – The investigators now know that “pilot errors” was the cause of a helicopter accident near San Diego last year, in which five US marines were killed, including one of Chandler.

The more than 1,100-page report by the Marine Corps showed that the crew fought against weather and night vision glasses, which was most likely more difficult.

On Thursday, the family of 23-year-old Sgt. Alec Langen divided their hope of making military helicopters retrofitted with new technology so that other families do not have to remain with persistent questions.

“We have not been able to mourn completely since last year because we just don't know what his last one or two days look like. And it was really difficult for me,” said Steve Langen, father of Alec.

It is a difficult reality for Steve to find out because he was once a navy. “I did a precise job in the Marine Corps and the same helicopter type for a few years,” he said.

The CH-53 Super Stallion helicopter Alec fell on the way back to the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar a mountain in South California last February.

“With the latest report, we have answered many questions and there are many questions that we have not yet answered, but most of them will never be,” said Steve.

The report describes the many things that have probably led to the crash, including night vision glasses, coupled with icy weather and precipitation. According to investigators, this could have caused problems with visibility to avoid the collision. Ultimately, the investigators found that the pilot's failure to avoid the terrain was the main cause of the crash.

“We believe in our hearts that they all made a decision and they made it together. However, if we had data recorder, cockpit language recorder, we were able to understand in the last four minutes when they made this turn through the Acorn Resort and the casino until the time of the acorn resort. There are only four minutes,” argued Steve.

Steve was announced that the inclusion of crash-checkable recorders would be too expensive. It is an answer that he does not want to accept.

“I turned to Senator Mark Kelly, the Member of the Congress [Greg] Stanton, and I hope to get others, “he said.” It's something small. It's so easy to do this. So you know we have to be able to find the financing because a price tag cannot be included in the life of the service members. “

In November, the squadron commander, who approved the return flight, was freed from duty, “due to the trust and trust in his ability to continue to serve,” the report said.

You can find the full report here.

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