Camp Pendleton Crash: Bird Strike Reportedly Caused Marine Helicopter Crash That Killed 2

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (AP) — A bird strike caused a deadly helicopter crash at Camp Pendleton last year that killed two Marines, according to a Marine Corps investigation.

The AH-1W Cobra attack helicopter collided Sept. 19 with a red-tailed hawk that had a wing span of about 4 feet and probably weighed about 3 pounds, according to a report obtained by U-T San Diego (http://bit.ly/KxrFT1 ).

Both pilots onboard, Capt. Jeffrey Bland, 37, and 1st Lt. Thomas Heitmann, 27, were killed in the crash.

The hawk hit the top of the helicopter and damaged the pitch change link, according to the report. Almost immediately after impact, vibrations in the main rotor caused the rotor and top of the transmission to separate from the aircraft.

The helicopter fell in three pieces to the ground, and the wreckage ignited a brush fire that burned more than 120 acres.

The event was "unavoidable," and after it occurred, the helicopter "was not recoverable," according to the report.

Bland's mother told the newspaper that the family is shocked to hear about the bird strike.

"We know it happens to jets, with birds getting into the engines. But we never thought about a bird bringing down a helicopter," said Janet Bland.

The report recommends studying a redesign of the copter's transmission fairings and pitch change links to make the aircraft less vulnerable to bird strikes.

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Information from: U-T San Diego, http://www.utsandiego.com

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Comments

[bayonet division]

08:01 PM on 05/18/2012

Marines seem to have a heck of a time keeping machines in the air. Our UH-60 hit a huge vulture near David along the Panamanian coast in '89. We thought we'd been hit by a SAM or some such. The pilots put it down immediately, and she was shuddering all the way to the ground. That was a direct nose-hit, not even an intake or control strike. Sorry for these Marines and their families.

[fredrdr]

03:59 PM on 05/25/2012

Depends where the bird hits, altitude and speed. No two incidents are alike.

[BuddhistMtnMan]

11:12 AM on 05/18/2012

Just an observation...the bird in the pic is a golden eagle.

[moldstv]

03:12 PM on 05/19/2012

red tail hawk,they get pretty big out here in ca.

[Tracy Kolenchuk]

11:12 AM on 05/18/2012

I was driving on the highway once, saw a gopher run in front of my car. I said 'run run run' and suddenly a diving hawk smashed into my windshield. A small hawk, no damage to the car. But a big surprise.....

[studioh!]

11:07 AM on 05/18/2012

I've always felt the hawks were playing the military.

[Copyright]

11:02 AM on 05/18/2012

Black Hawk Down

[emershtdwn]

10:58 AM on 05/18/2012

go ahead and make whatever jokes you want about this story.....just remember that two Marines died in this accident.

[Crimmies810]

11:15 AM on 05/18/2012

I don't believe they mean what they say! I do believe they have no life whatsoever and will say anything to draw attention to themselves! It is their entertainment throughout the day! They need to find a hobby!

[spackled trout]

11:41 AM on 05/18/2012

They need to join the Marines (or one of the other service branches).

[Tom Rowland]

10:54 AM on 05/18/2012

seems like a new, easy way to bring down choppers--flying IED's...just get one of those little remote controlled helicopter things, put a little bit of explosive charge in it, get it close enough to the blades that it gets sucked in...end of chopper.

[Greenthenewgray]

11:03 AM on 05/18/2012

I'd like to see you make that statement to a Marine in person.

[Craig2]

10:29 AM on 05/18/2012

Good morning, A 3# Hawk took out a combat heliocopter? That is way, way, out there on the probability scale.

[eljefefx]

05:33 PM on 05/18/2012

A few birds took out a passenger airliner that landed in the Hudson. FOD and birdstrikes are a part of ALL aviation, be it military or civilian. You can only do so much to mitigate the negative results.

[bayonet division]

08:02 PM on 05/18/2012

Not improbable at all, really. Perhaps surprising if you've not been around helos much.

[Bloviator88]

10:24 AM on 05/18/2012

Al Qaeda Bird Division strikes again!

[Sundialsvc4]

10:22 AM on 05/18/2012

And we intend to use equipment like this in a battle??

[retrievals]

10:27 AM on 05/18/2012

Been using that helicopter for 40 years in combat.

[Sarah Hawkins]

11:37 AM on 05/18/2012

not anymore. the enemy just found out that they just need a flock of birds to take out one of our deadliest war machines.

[eljefefx]

05:34 PM on 05/18/2012

As someone already said, that airframe has been used for decades. It might help if you had some experience though.

[P51MUSTANG]

10:09 AM on 05/18/2012

So in one week a Hawk delivers a puppy and takes down a killing machine.

[MIvoter1231]

11:00 AM on 05/18/2012

That's horrid! Those young men were serving us. We should be supporting them, not trashing them. I don't like war any better than you, but I do support our troops 100%. Always have, and will even more when my son graduates from boot camp in San Diego, carrying on a long and proud military history that comes from both sides of the family, dating back to the Revolution.

Trash the politicians that send our troops into danger for no valid reason. But never the troops. And yes, I've said that for decades, not just since my son enlisted. They are doing their job. The politicians are responsible for the way they do it.

[P51MUSTANG]

11:29 AM on 05/18/2012

No, when they go and attack Iraq, which didn't attack us, had nothing to do with 9/11, had no WMD's, no, they are NOT serving "us."

They are serving themselves. It's an all volunteer military, remember? They are choosing to be mercenaries for hire.

Your son chose to be part of a military which killed 600,000 Iraqi's with absolutely no justification. Call it a "proud military tradition" if you want. I call it gin oside.

[Clem2]

10:07 AM on 05/18/2012

Does seem odd a 3 pound bird could bring down a copter... just saying. I assume the hawk did not survive as well?

[MIvoter1231]

11:01 AM on 05/18/2012

A bird can bring down a 747. If I remember correctly, that's what happened with the plane that landed in the river in NYC.

[ThinkCreeps]

02:33 PM on 05/19/2012

It could indeed. But both geese in that case were bigger than the engines could reasonably survive. The transmission of this - not so horribly old - AH1W should be able to take a lucky anti-aircraft shell without disintegration. It clearly could not, as the energy imparted by a red-tailed hawk is less.

[ThinkCreeps]

02:30 PM on 05/19/2012

If it's not built or maintained to adequate standards. This transmission was purchased to survive a lucky 20mm shell hit for long enough to get the crew on the ground, and so if a Hawk that's 10-times heavier and at least five times slower destroys it, there are obviously questions that arise.

[fredrdr]

04:05 PM on 05/25/2012

If its Marine, its maintained. Take it from a Navy Chief.

[Gas-Bag]

09:59 AM on 05/18/2012

I'm having a little trouble believing this, a three pound bird, come on. I don't care what the velocity was, the hawk would have been obliterated on contact.

[MIvoter1231]

11:04 AM on 05/18/2012

Yeah, and that doesn't mean it didn't do damage before it was. You do realize that birds cause huge airplanes problems? They've taken them down and they only end up in the engine for a millisecond before they are obliterated.

I don't generally like to cite Wiki, but for speed, I will this time. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird_strike Read it and become educated.

[Gas-Bag]

11:25 AM on 05/18/2012

I understand the good points that you made and I'm more than likely incorrect in my assessment but.... In my mind I'm visualizing the skeletal frame of the bird and of the linkage of the helo and don't see how the linkage could be dismantled so easily. The report has been made, the answer was given, so that's that.

[fredrdr]

04:06 PM on 05/25/2012

It called physics.

[Gas-Bag]

09:53 PM on 05/25/2012

Thanks :-)

[hungryaardvark]

09:30 AM on 05/18/2012

This will certainly be in the next version of Angry Birds.