March 31, 2019 – In Breaking News – Marine Corps Times
Two Marine pilots have died in a helicopter crash during a training mission in southwestern Arizona, U.S. Marine Corps officials said Sunday.
The AH-1Z Viper crashed Saturday night while the pilots were conducting a training mission as part of a weapons and tactical instructor course, according to the Marine Corps.
The cause of the crash is under investigation.
(According to reports from Reuters, two U.S. Marine pilots have died in a helicopter crash in Arizona. The helicopter crashed near Yuma, Arizona during a routine training mission. The Marines were flying the helicopter while participating in a weapons and tactics instructor course when the crash occurred late on Saturday.The cause of the crash is being investigated. The Pentagon has stated that the identities of the deceased cannot be released for 24 hours pending notification of the Marines’ immediate family. Courtesy of Wochit News and YouTube. Posted on Mar 31, 2019.)
Capt. Gabriel Adibe, a Marine Corps spokesman, said the helicopter crashed on the vast Marine Corps Air Station Yuma training grounds but no additional information was immediately available.
The names of the pilots who died have not been released pending notification of their families.
The station is located about 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) from Yuma and the 1,300-square-mile (3,367-square-kilometer) training ground is one of the world’s largest military installations.
There have been several fatal crashes involving Marine Corps aircraft near Yuma over the years.
In 1996, a Marine electronic-warfare plane went down during a training mission on a gunnery range near the Gila Mountains, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) east of the Yuma station, killing all four people aboard.
The crew was from the Marine base at Cherry Point, North Carolina, and was training at Yuma.
Two Marine pilots, a crew chief and a Navy corpsman died in a 2007 crash of a search-and-rescue helicopter near the Colorado River during a training mission.
Continue reading… 2 pilots killed in Marine Corps helicopter crash in Arizona
(Learn More. Seven Marines were killed when an AH-1W Super Cobra attack helicopter collided with a UH-1Y Huey utility helicopter in midair during a training exercise on the Yuma training grounds. Courtesy of KGUN9 and YouTube. Posted on Feb 25, 2012.)
Editor’s note: Our heartfelt condolences, thoughts and prayers are with the families of these brave Marines, their friends and fellow Marines. Semper Fi. As a Marine Corps mother, I cannot begin to know what you’re going through. But trust you are not going through it alone. Our thoughts and prayers will be with you always.
Thank you for your honor and courage in serving our nation. You will not be forgotten.
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