Pilot error was the root cause of a helicopter crash that killed five Miramar-based Marines last year, according to a report released today by the Marine Corps.
The CH-53E helicopter carrying the Marines departed Creech Air Force Base in Indian Springs, Nevada on Feb. 6, 2024, and was headed back to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar when it crashed. The wreckage was located the following day in Pine Valley.
The Marine Corps' report states that the chopper's pilot failed "to maintain both a safe obstacle clearance and Visual Flight Rules (VFR) visibility requirements, resulting in a fatal controlled flight into terrain."
Stormy weather that night also was a contributing factor, but the report states that the crew should have been aware that the weather conditions would prevent a safe flight. Those conditions included "the presence of moderate icing conditions and cloud layers along the mishap route that prevented a safe transit above factor terrain."
The Marines killed in the crash were:
- Lance Cpl. Donovan Davis, 21, of Olathe, Kansas, a CH-53E helicopter crew chief;
- Sgt. Alec Langen, 23, of Chandler, Arizona, a CH-53E helicopter crew chief;
- Capt. Benjamin Moulton, 27, of Emmett, Idaho, a CH-53E helicopter pilot;
- Capt. Jack Casey, 26, of Dover, New Hampshire, a CH-53E helicopter pilot;
- Capt. Miguel Nava, 28, of Traverse City, Michigan, a CH-53E helicopter pilot.
The commander of the helicopter squadron involved in the crash, Lt. Col. Nicholas J. Harvey, was fired last November, though the Marine Corps did not specify whether the crash played a role in his dismissal.
