Military investigators are on scene of a deadly helicopter crash in San Diego’s east county. Officials with MCAS Miramar have confirmed two U.S. Marine pilots on board the AH-1W attack helicopter, also known as a “Super Cobra,” were killed when the helicopter crashed just before midnight Tuesday.
Officials said the two Marines are part of the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, and fly with a squadron based out of Camp Pendleton and overseen by MCAS Miramar. The pilots were reportedly flying as part of a pre-deployment training exercise last night. Military officials could not confirm the helicopter’s direction of flight when it went down.
The U.S. Forrest Service and CAL Fire said they received a call about a brush fire near Interstate 8 and Kitchen Creek Road near the Cleveland National Forest around 11:45 last night. Fire crews said they were alerted by the military that a helicopter was missing. Fire crews were warned to stay a quarter of a mile away from the crash site because of the threat of live ammunition aboard the aircraft.
Fire crews said the fire burned itself out. It blaze scorched between one and two acres of a remote and rugged area surrounding the crash site.
Fire officials said around 10 military officials arrived this morning to disarm any live ordinance and begin their investigation into what caused the crash that killed two U.S. Marines.
A command post has been set up at Kitchen Creek Road in Pine Valley.
Source: NBC - Link
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