2 Pilots Killed in Marine Helicopter Crash

By AP. U.S. Marine Corps officials are investigating after two pilots died in a helicopter crash during a training mission in southwestern Arizona.

A statement from the Marine Corps Air Station says the crash of the AH-1Z Viper occurred at about 8:45 p.m. Saturday.

A spokesman for the station says the crash occurred on the vast Marine Corps Air Station Yuma training grounds. (Read more from “2 Pilots Killed in Marine Helicopter Crash” HERE)

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Marine Pilots Killed in Arizona Helicopter Crash

By USA Today. Capt. Gabriel Adibe, a Marine Corps spokesman, said the helicopter crashed on the vast Marine Corps Air Station Yuma training grounds but no additional information was immediately available.

The names of the pilots who died have not been released pending notification of their families.

The station is located about 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) from Yuma and the 1,300-square-mile (3,367-square-kilometer) training ground is one of the world’s largest military installations.

There have been several fatal crashes involving Marine Corps aircraft near Yuma over the years.

In 1996, a Marine electronic-warfare plane went down during a training mission on a gunnery range near the Gila Mountains, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) east of the Yuma station, killing all four people aboard. The crew was from the Marine base at Cherry Point, North Carolina, and was training at Yuma. (Read more from “Marine Pilots Killed in Arizona Helicopter Crash” HERE)

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