The UH-1Y Huey helicopter, carrying 2 Marines, crashed at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center during a training exercise.

Both occupants were killed in the crash. They were later identified as Captain Elizabeth Kealey, 32, of Indiana, Pennsylvania and First Lieutenant Adam Satterfield, 25, of Oldham, Kentucky.

Wing commander Maj. Gen. Michael Rocco said in a statement, “Our hearts go out to the families and friends of the two Marines we lost in this tragic accident.”

The cause of crash is not known at the moment.

The post Helicopter Crashed During Training Exercise in Southern California; 2 Marines Killed first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

The pilot touched down with skids, bounced, and crashed into a cottage in Rüthi in the Rhine valley about 200 meters from the highway. The gearbox and rotor were ten meters from the body of the helicopter.

The four people aboard the helicopter were hospitalized with minor injuries. Rescue services considered the damage to the helicopter and said that it was lucky there were no fatalities.

The post Four Survive Bell Crash in Ruthi Switzerland first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

Pilot Cody Seeger walked away.

A Brim Aviation helicopter located the wreckage and airlifted the pilot out.

Investigators had to bulldoze a trail for ATV to reach the scene, but the Huey wreckage will probably be airlifted out.

The post Firefighter Huey Crashes, Pilot Walks away first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

What: Royal Thai Army Aviation Bell UH-1H Huey
Where: between Phetchaburi and Ratchaburi, Thailand
When: July 16 2011
Who: 5 fatalities
Why: A chopper on a mission (air ambulance flight) to rescue civilians trapped in Kaeng Krachan National Park crashed, killing 5 army officers aboard. Visibility was poor, with heavy rain and thick fog.

The chopper had taken off from Thap Phraya Sua Camp in Ratchaburi’s Suan Phung district.

The soldiers lost in that crash were Maj. Kitisak Chin-iam (First pilot), Lt. Pratya Nualsri (Second Pilot), Maj. Kitiphum Ekkaphan (Deputy Commander of the 2nd Infantry Battalion of the 9th Infantry Regiment), Sgt. Maj. Rangsan Polsaibua and Sgt. Maj. Narongdet Pongnumkul (both Flight Mechanics).

The crash occurred between Phetchaburi and Ratchaburi in the jungle. Retrieval has been hampered by continued bad weather, but four helicopters have participated in recovery, as well as forest rangers and border patrol.

Condition and status of the stranded civilians has not been released but they appear not to have been aboard the chopper at the time of the crash.

The post Thai Chopper Down first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

The deceased included four helicopter crewmen (Pilot Captain Manuel Niño Nestor Acosta, co-pilot Lt. Fuentes Fabián Meneses and technical sub Leandro Mayor Sanchez) and four members of the police anti-narcotics service (Gutierrez Mendoza Eimer, John Contreras Lobo, John Jewel Delgado, Wilson Germain Medina Correa Delgado and Castillo). Four surviving narcotics officers (Miguel Ochoa Assistant Parrado, Domingo Gamarra Roso, Orlando Castillo and Jose Jaimes Torres Vesga) have been hospitalized.

The helicopter was completely destroyed.

The chopper’s registration number was PLC-0731

The post Narcotics Chopper Crash in Colombia Kills 8, 4 Survive first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

What: Fuerza Aérea de Colombia MD Helicopters/Hughes 500/530
Where: Chaparral, Tolima Colombia
When: April 20, 2010 1:45 pm
Who: 7 deaths reported
Why: While performing maneuvers, a Bell 222UT helicopter and a Colombian Air Force MDH/Hughes 500/530 crashed on a military garrison near the town of Chaparral, Tolima.

Army:
– General Brigadier Fernando Joya Duarte, commander of the Task Force of the South of the Tolima.
– Colonel Brown Arturo Herrera Castaño, commander of Movable Brigade 20.
– Lieutenant Colonel Juan Gonzalo Lopera Echeverry, operations officer of the Task Force of the South of Tolima.

Air Force:
– Aviation technician Eider Vargas Avendaño, crew member.
– Aviation technician Víctor Sorza Pulido, crew member.

Vertical Aviation:
– Commander (r.) Rodolfo Garzón Venegas, pilot of Vertical Aviation Bell 222
– Lieutenant of Frigate (r.) Camilo Andrés Cujar, copilot.

The Army Captain Ejército Alejandro Suescún, professional soldier Jairo Suárez, the Air Force lieutenant Alcides Otálora Polo (pilot) and the technician José Hefner Lerma Prieto suffered burns and fractures but survived..

The post Fatal Colombian Military Collision first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

The post 4 Fatalities in Colombian Helicopter Crash first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

Fast forward to 2008. (Cases like these take years to go to trial.)

Family members of Capt. Adam E. Miller, 29; 1st Lt. Michael S. Lawlor, 26; Staff Sgt. Lori A. Privette, 27; and Cpl. Joshua D. Harris, 21, asked for unspecified damages in the wrongful-death lawsuit. In a jury decision, over $15 million was awarded on Wednesday to the families of four Marines killed. Plus some $50 million in punitive damages.

San Diego Gas & Electric, which owned the tower was determined by the jury to be negligent and “acted with malice” by not installing safety devices to prevent accidents. After a three week trial and deliberating one day, the jury determined that the parents of all four Marines should receive $2.125 million. Lawlor’s wife was entitled to $4.5 million for the loss and $2.2 million in lost earnings.

SDG&E bore 56 percent of the responsibility for the collision because they knew about the hazard and failed to follow safety recommendations. Pilots and other parties shared the rest of the blame. After the trial’s punitive damages phase, the jury awarded $10.1 million to the families of each Marine who died in the crash.

Since the accident, SDG&E has installed lights.

The post Millions Awarded to Crash Victims first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.