Five Marines were killed when a military helicopter crashed more than a year ago. The official probe into what happened is now over. The accident took place on February 6, 2024, on the way back to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, where all the Marines were stationed.
The 1,140-page study came out on Wednesday, more than a year after it was requested. The public version of the report, which had some parts redacted, said that the crash was caused by “pilot error,” which meant that the mistaken pilot didn’t keep both a safe obstacle clearance and Visual Flight Rules (VFR) visibility requirements. This led to a fatal controlled flight into terrain.
The report went on to say, “The investigation found a number of other factors that contributed to the accident, such as moderate icing conditions and cloud layers along the route of the accident that made it unsafe to travel above factor terrain.” Further investigation revealed that the worsening weather should have warned the TIGER 43 accident crew that a safe flight from Imperial County Airport was not possible, even though the earlier predicted and observed weather report supported TIGER 43’s initial departure from Creech Air Force Base to Imperial County.
The TIGER 43 crew, which was part of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (3rd MAW), had a training flight before they left Creech Air Force Base to go back to their home base, as was already said. They were going to stop at Imperial County Airport to get fuel, but when they got warning signs about one of their engines, it turned into a careful emergency landing (PEL) at night.
There were different opinions in the investigation about whether this was explained well or not. The problem was fixed, though, and the report says that the pilot then called the senior officer of the squadron to get permission to fly back to Miramar. It was okay to go, but “the squadron CO exceeded his authority by authorising the mishap flight,” and the investigation found that it should have been raised. “Due to a loss of trust and confidence in his ability to continue to serve,” the 3rd MAW told NBC 7 in a press release. That commanding officer was later fired on November 18.
Eventually, the Super Stallion crew was reported late at Miramar. According to dispatch records, they were last “heard of at 2330,” which is 11:30 p.m. The next day, many federal and local police departments went to the Marines’ last known position in the Pine Valley area to look for the helicopter and the Marines. Sadly, all five Marines were later found dead. They were protected by other Marines, including 23-year-old Sgt. Alec Langen, until police came.
He told NBC 7 that reading from the time it went down to the time they found everyone was probably the hardest part. Steve Langen is Alec’s dad and was also a Marine on the CH-53E. “What did you do?” Were they too busy with other things? Were they worn out?”
Steve Langen said that he and his wife, Alec’s mom, were given the full, unredacted investigation’s result by Marines a few weeks ago. This is how things are usually done. It was their wish that no family would have to deal with the guilt of believing that one person on the plane was responsible for the disaster, he said.
He said, “As a parent, you want to believe that they all made the choice together.”
No matter how long the investigation lasts, no one will ever fully understand what happened in those last few seconds before the helicopter crashed into the mountain ridge.
“Some problems came up during the investigation, such as the fact that some on-board flight data and exact real-time weather were not available.” The investigation team carefully looked at all the possible outcomes and simulations to draw conclusions from the data and analysis that was available, as stated in the 3rd MAW press statement announcing the report’s completion.
What needs to change is that, Steve Langen told NBC 7. He said that he wants voice records to be put in the cockpits of military planes so that other families won’t have to worry about what happened if the worst happens.
“Were they having a talk?” Did one guy get ahead of the other one? Would Alec have said “let’s go” or “let’s turn around?” What Steve Langen said.
A representative for 3rd MAW said that adding crash-survivable recordings to the CH-53E would be too expensive because the Marine Corps only has so many of them left.
“No, it won’t bring him back.” Steve Langen said, “No, it won’t end it for good, but something has to change.”
In their news release, 3rd MAW also said, “as a result of the investigation, multiple recommendations were put into action for police and training across 3rd MAW.”