Five Individuals Aboard US Marines Helicopter Unaccounted for, Presumed Missing

The search is underway for a US Marine Corps helicopter that has gone missing while en route to California. The Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, located near San Diego, reported the CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter as overdue early Wednesday. The helicopter was carrying five marines and was traveling from a base near Las Vegas. The search efforts are being supported by the San Diego County Sheriff's Department. The missing marines were assigned to Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 361, part of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing based in Miramar. Fire crews were alerted to the incident and deployed near Lake Morina, California, but were unable to locate the missing helicopter due to heavy snow and wintry weather conditions. The area was experiencing a winter storm at the time, which brought heavy rains and significant snowfall in mountainous areas. The CH-53E Super Stallion, which has been in active service since 1981, is a key aircraft in Marine Corps aviation and is primarily used for transportation, with a capacity of up to 37 passengers. It can also be utilized for combat operations and supply transportation. This incident follows a previous crash in August, where a Marine Corps pilot was killed when his F/A-18 Hornet jet crashed in the same vicinity near the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. Marine Corps Super Stallions have been involved in other serious accidents in the past, including a crash in April 2018 that claimed the lives of four troops during a training mission near El Centro, California. Another incident in January 2016 resulted in the collision of two Super Stallions over the Pacific near Oahu in Hawaii, resulting in the deaths of 12 Marines.