4 dead in Marine chopper crash

LOS ANGELES — Four Marines were killed when their helicopter crashed while they were practicing desert landings in Southern California, the Miramar air station in San Diego said Wednesday.

The Marines took off from a ground-combat center in the city of Twentynine Palms for the routine training mission on Tuesday.

The massive CH-53E Super Stallion crashed about 100 miles to the south in a remote desert area just outside of El Centro, near the U.S.-Mexico border. There were no survivors.

On Wednesday, an F-16 fighter jet crashed during exercises over the Nevada Test and Training Range, said Nellis Air Force Base spokesman Staff Sgt. Jason Coulliard. The condition of the pilot or pilots was not immediately made public.

The helicopter in Tuesday’s crash was with the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing out of Miramar air station in San Diego.

Practicing desert landings is a routine part of training, said Capt. Morgan Frazer with the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing.

“We’re supposed to practice landing in austere environments,” Frazer said. “It allows them to practice landing with reduced visibilities because of the dust that gets blown up from the rotor.”

The cause of the crash is under investigation and could take months to determine. Weather doesn’t appear to be a factor.

The bodies of the Marines were recovered from the crash site late Tuesday and taken to a coroner’s facility, said Deputy Coroner Derrick Lindberg with the Imperial Valley Sheriff ’s Office. The Marine Corps will take custody of the bodies to conduct autopsies, he said.

The names of the Marines were expected to be released Thursday.