Tragedy has seemingly struck California multiple times in only the span of a few days following a series of helicopter crashes ending in fatalities. Fatalities included the combined death of eleven people, leaving supposedly no survivors in either accident.
Taking off from Creech Air Force Base in Nevada, a CH-53E helicopter conducting a routine training flight was soon to go missing. Officially marked as missing on February 7th, authorities quickly responded and started searching for the craft. But as the day wore on, nothing was turning up. Tragically, the helicopter and its inhabitants were found the next day, having crashed in San Diego County. The cause of the crash is unclear, but the presence of heavy rain and snow around and in San Diego during the flight is very likely to cause the incident. However, an investigation regarding the cause is still ongoing, as well as an effort to recover the remains of the deceased.
After finding the crashed helicopter, the news of the fate of its operators was confirmed to the public the next day, which was, very unfortunately, that all five aboard had died. Those five were Mar, who were identified as Lance Cpl Donovan Davis, Sgt Alec Langen, Capt Benjamin Moulton, Capt Jack Casey, and Capt Miguel Nava. Horrifically, all five men were still in their 20s, Lance Cpl Davis being just twenty-one years old as the youngest, and Miguel Nava, twenty-eight, the oldest among them.
While almost all of the families of the young marines expressed their grief and shared heartfelt stories and words about their relatives, more than one criticized the carelessness of operations to let the men fly in such harsh weather conditions.
If not a devastating enough event, on the same day officials released the identities of the young men from the first crash, another helicopter carrying passengers was found downed in San Bernardi
no. Six passengers were aboard this flight, taking off from Palm Springs and heading to Boulder City. Among those six, four included Herbert Wigwe, CEO of Access Bank in Nigeria, the most extensive banking company in the country, his wife, Chizoba Wigwe, and son and former group chairman of Nigerian Group Exchange Plc, Abimbola Ogunbanjo.
The other two passengers aboard have not yet been identified. Wigwe’s team said they were simply on their way to the Superbowl. Much like the previous crash, the cause of this crash hasn’t been figured out either, and the investigation is still ongoing. However, the stormy weather in the area at the time could be the culprit.
Considering the flights were following a flight path in relative proximity, it is very possible that they both crashed due to the weather; however, as previously stated, nothing is confirmed yet. Additionally, the fact that both aircraft were helicopters and flew around the same time is very likely just a coincidence. Coincidences aside, though, both incidents are regrettable, and hopefully, events like these will not continue to happen.
