7 Marines killed in helo collision near Yuma - Air Force News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Air Force Times

7 Marines killed in helo collision near Yuma

Seven Marines were killed after two military helicopters collided near Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz., on Wednesday night, military officials said.

Six of the Marines were assigned to a unit at Camp Pendleton, Calif., part of 3rd Marine Air Wing based at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif. One Marine was based at Yuma. Their units have not been identified.

The collision between an AH-1W Cobra and UH-1Y Huey occurred in a remote location of the Yuma Training Range Complex during a normal training operation about 8 p.m., the Corps said in a release.

Typically the Cobra aircraft carries a pilot and a copilot while the Huey can carry up to 10 passengers, according to the Marine Corps.

Identities of the Marines have not been released, and an investigation has been launched into the cause of the collision.

“We’re still gathering a lot of details as the sun comes up,” said Lt. Maureen Dooley of MCAS Miramar.

Capt. Staci Reidinger, director of public affairs at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, said earlier Thursday that the crash happened west of the Chocolate Mountains in California, although the exact location hasn’t been confirmed.

“It’s not in a populated area,” she said.

Cpl. Steven Posy of MCAS Miramar said Thursday the weather “was pretty mild last night.”

The Yuma Training Range consists of about 1.2 million acres of land in southwestern Arizona and southeastern California that is used primarily for military flight training and is secured from public access.

There have been other military accidents in the area.

In May 2008, a Harrier jump jet crashed while on a training mission on the Barry M. Goldwater Range southeast of Yuma, but both pilots ejected safely, officials said.

Another Harrier jet crashed in November 2007 near the Goldwater Range while on a routine training mission about 40 miles east of Yuma. The pilot successfully ejected himself from the aircraft.

In August 2007, four were killed and one survived when a Marine Corps search-and-rescue HH-1N Huey helicopter went down during a training exercise near the Colorado River about 20 miles north of Yuma.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.