CNN/Yahoo: Two U.S. Marine helicopters crash in waters off Djibouti

[Patsy Stone]

BREAKING NEWS Two U.S. Marine helicopters crash in waters off Djibouti in the Horn of Africa, the Defense Department says.

Yahoo story:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/helicopter_crash

WASHINGTON - Two Marine Corps transport helicopters crashed Friday off the coast of Djibouti, the Pentagon said. A search-and-rescue mission was under way.

The status of the crews of the CH-53E helicopters was not known, said Lt. Cmdr. Joe Carpenter.

A CH-53E normally operates with a crew of between three and eight people.

Carpenter said there was no indication that hostile fire was involved. The helicopters were based at Camp Lemonier, a French military base that serves as headquarters for a U.S. military operation called Task Force Horn of Africa. The task force is designed to stop terrorist groups from infiltrating the region.

[Tin Man]

1. Sounds like it might have been a mid-air collision. Not good...

[Patsy Stone]

2. So far it seems you're right.

No hostile fire indicated.

[Earth_First]

3. Terrorism in Darfur?

I didn't think so.

[Squatch]

4. Whose booty?

:shrug:

[Scout1071]

5. How does this happen?

It seems like 2 cars hitting each other in the massive parking lot at DisneyWorld. Like you'd almost have to try to do it.

Any helicopter pilots hanging around DU that could enlighten me?

[Tin Man]

8. might have been flying a night mission, wearing NVGs

NVGs - night vision goggles. Wonderful at magnifying ambient light, but at the expense of diminished depth perception and periferal vision. Lotta helicopter accidents occur while flying NVGs at night.

[Scout1071]

9. Roger that.

That makes sense. I didn't even think about a nightime accident.

[Tin Man]

6. Two CH-53E's - might be even worse

The '53 SuperStallion is the most powerful heavylifter in the US inventory - used to airlift equipment, but also to ferry marines. Hopefully this wasn't an interdiction mission with a bunch of jarheads riding in the back of each aircraft.

[Tin Man]

7. from GlobalSecurity.org

-snip-

Djibouti has been cooperating in the US-led war against terrorism, and several hundred American troops have been stationed at Le Monier barracks since April 2002. On 19 September 2002 US military officials said 800 special-operations troops have been moved to Djibouti, where they could be used to hunt for al-Qaida terrorists in nearby Yemen.

-end snip-

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/djibouti.htm

[muriel_volestrangler]

10. Link now says 2 rescued, another 10 not found yet

The helicopters were on a nighttime training mission at the time of the crash, whose cause had not been determined Friday night.

At the Pentagon, a spokesman, Lt. Cmdr. Joe Carpenter, said there was no indication of hostile fire.

Members of the Djiboutian military notified U.S. officials at about 5:30 p.m. local time (9:30 a.m. EST) that the helicopters had crashed in the Gulf of Aden not far from the Djiboutian coastal town of Ras Siyyan.

'Nighttime' - but before 5:30pm? At this time of year, at that latitude, I'd have thought it would still be light.