Salvage Crew at Fla. Site of Helicopter Crash That Killed 11
Associated Press
By TAMARA LUSH and EMERY DALESIO
Mar 14, 2015, 4:02 AM ET
A salvage barge moved off the Florida Panhandle coast to lift the wreckage of a shattered Black Hawk helicopter from the waters, days after seven Marines and four soldiers were killed when the aircraft crashed in dense fog on a nighttime training mission.
Air Force spokeswoman Sara Vidoni said the barge arrived about midday Friday to pluck the debris from about 25 feet of water. The salvage operation opened on a day a military leader in North Carolina disclosed that those aboard the aircraft had tried to abort their mission when they decided it was too risky.
Maj. Gen. Joseph L. Osterman — commander of Marine Corps special operations forces — said the Marines had been flying offshore before early Tuesday's crash to practice rappelling down ropes into the water and then making for land. He didn't know whether the Marines had been planning to reach shore by swimming or in small rubber boats, but the same drill had been practiced in daylight.
"They literally had done it hours before in daylight as part of the rehearsal for being able to do the nighttime operations, which inherently are more difficult," Osterman said at a news conference at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.
The teams of Marines and Army-piloted choppers made a judgment call on whether conditions were sufficient for the training mission to go ahead, he noted. Then when they were heading out to start the mission, they tried to abort after deciding it was too risky, Osterman said.
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Florida Military Helicopter Crash: Decorated Marine Among Those Killed in Training Accident
ABC News
By JUSTIN FISHEL and LUIS MARTINEZ
Mar 13, 2015, 10:01 PM ET
Among the men killed in a military training accident this week was the 2013 Marine of the Year, who just last week was awarded the Silver Star, the military’s third-highest decoration for valor.
Staff Sgt. Andrew Seif, 26, was one of 11 veteran Marines and soldiers conducting a training mission off the Florida coast when their UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed, killing all on board during a nighttime operation in foggy conditions.
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