[Crash] Collision de deux hélicoptères des Marines en Californie, 7 morts

Une collision entre 2 hélicoptères a tué sept soldats de l’US Marines Corps. Il s’agit de l’une des catastrophes aériennes les plus meurtrières lors d’un entraînement. Cet accident a eu lieu sur un gigantesque secteur du désert de Californie utilisé par l’armée américaine car les montagnes escarpées environnantes et les conditions climatique, chaudes et poussiéreuses, sont assez similaires à l’environnement hostile d’Afghanistan.

Un AH-1W Cobra et un UH-1 Huey qui venait de tomber en panne se sont percutés à basse altitude lors de l’exercice alors que le ciel était dégagé. Il n’y a pas eu de survivants dans cet accident, qui a eu lieu près des montagnes Chocolate Mountains et le long de la frontière entre la Californie et l’Arizona.

Plus de détails (en anglais)  dans la dépêche de « The Associated Press » :

A collision that killed seven Marines in one of the Marine Corps’ deadliest aviation training accidents in years occurred over a sprawling desert range favored by the U.S. military because its craggy mountains and hot, dusty conditions are similar to Afghanistan’s harsh environment.

Officials were scrambling Thursday to determine what caused the AH-1W Cobra and UH-1 Huey to crash during a routine exercise Wednesday night when skies were clear and the weather was mild.

There were no survivors in the accident near the Chocolate Mountains along the California-Arizona border.

It was the fifth aviation accident since March involving the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing headquartered at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station in San Diego. Throughout the Navy and Marine Corps, there have only been two other aviation training accidents in the past five years involving seven or more deaths, according to the military’s Naval Safety Center.

“It’s an unfortunate consequence of the high tempo of operations,” said retired Marine Col. J.F. Joseph, an aviation safety consultant. “They’re out there working on the edge trying to exploit the maximum capabilities of the aircraft and their tactics. Just by the virtue of that, in becoming combat ready, these unfortunately are not uncommon occurrences.”

The Marine Corps and Navy, nonetheless, stand out in their efforts to mitigate that risk and make training as safe as possible, he said.

With 17,500 Marines and sailors, including personnel stationed at Camp Pendleton and Marine Corps Air Station Yuma in Arizona, the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing conducts hundreds of aviation training exercises a year so troops can get as much experience as possible before they go to war.