Camp Pendleton helicopter crash kills one, injures five others

SAN DIEGO (CNS) – Authorities released the name Thursday of a 25-year-old Marine killed in a Camp Pendleton helicopter crash that also injured five others aboard the military aircraft.

Sgt. Trevor Cook of Orleans, N.Y., was mortally injured when the Miramar- based Bell UH-1Y Huey went down for unknown reasons in the northwestern reaches of the North County USMC station about 11:40 a.m. Wednesday.

Medics took five others rescued from the damaged aircraft to several hospitals for treatment of apparently non-life-threatening injuries, according to a statement from the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, where the copter was stationed. Their names were not released.

The crash sparked a small brush fire, according to Sgt. John Jackson, a Camp Pendleton spokesman, but emergency crews extinguished the blaze before it got out of control.

The cause of the crash, which occurred during a training flight, is under investigation.

Cook enlisted in the Marine Corps in September 2004. He was a crew chief with Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 369, Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing.

His military decorations consist of an Air Medal, Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal and NATO Medal.

The UH-1Y has a capacity of eight occupants, twice as many as the Vietnam-era UH-1N, which it replaced. It also has more powerful engines, a four- blade rotor and upgraded avionics systems.

Wednesday's crash was the third fatal accident this year at Camp Pendleton.

On Jan. 14, a 29-ton amphibious personnel carrier capsized and sank during maneuvers in Del Mar Boat Basin, killing Iraq war veteran Sgt. Wesley J. Rice, 27, of San Antonio, Texas. A combination of mechanical failures, training lapses and insufficient supervision was blamed for the accident.

On March 7, Navy Constructionman Mychael A. Flint, 21, of Fort Ann, N.Y., and Petty Officer Third Class Daniel M. Shirar, 27, of Baytown, Texas, were killed when the seven-ton military water-hauling truck they were in crashed during a training operation.