Search Underway for 5 Marines After Helicopter Crash

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Facts

  • A missing helicopter carrying five US Marines has been located in Southern California. First responders are continuing to search for the crew.1
  • Ground and air crews found the CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter in Pine Valley, California, a mountainous community east of San Diego, around 9 a.m. local time on Wednesday. The helicopter departed from Creech Air Force Base in Nevada and was on its way to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar near San Diego on Tuesday night when it was reported overdue.1
  • The five missing marines belong to the Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 361, Marine Aircraft Group 16, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing.2
  • Search and rescue efforts are a multi-agency effort, including the U.S. Forestry Division, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department, and the US Border Patrol's Search, Trauma and Rescue Unit.3
  • Heavy precipitation from an ongoing atmospheric river has complicated rescue efforts and limited the usage of aircrews. Heavy snowfall in the mountains has also complicated the rescue response. It is not yet known if the weather played a role in the missing aircraft.3

Sources: 1NBC, 2New York Post and 3FOX Weather.

Narratives

  • Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Responsible Statecraft. Though the fate of this particular missing aircraft is still unknown, deadly military aircraft crashes are anything but rare. The US military's trend of focusing more on shiny new emerging technologies and outsourcing instead of pilot training and safety is directly to blame for this epidemic of accidents. Investing more resources into pilot training and maintenance would be a good start.
  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by WPDE. Even outside of war, military operations are inherently risky. While it is unfortunate that some people are injured or die in military operations, mishaps are not entirely unexpected in this risky business. Despite this, the number of deaths due to mishaps is trending downward and the US military is working to bring the number of casualties from accidents down to zero by improving training resources for troops.

Predictions