A documentary being shown at the GI Film Festival calls a helicopter — the 53E — used by the Navy and Marines one of the deadliest aircrafts in military history.
The documentary “Who Killed Lt. Van Dorn?” has made the 53E the subject of an investigation after a 2014 crash during a training exercise killed Navy Pilot Lt. Wes Van Dorn off the coast of Virginia. That same model aircraft crashed near El Centro last year killing 4 Miramar-based marines.
The documentary uncovers a history of bad maintenance and negligence that may have lead to dozens of deadly crashes in the helicopter.
Zachary Stauffer, the producer and director of the the documentary joined Midday Edition to talk about his film.
A screening of the documentary is free and open to the public 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday at the San Diego Central Library. More information can be found here.
