Military aircraft collide off Calif. coast

[unhappycamper]

Military aircraft collide off Calif. coast
THOMAS WATKINS - The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Oct 30, 2009 6:00:37 EDT

LOS ANGELES — The U.S. Coast Guard and Navy were searching for as many as nine people off the Southern California coast following a collision between a Coast Guard plane and a Marine Corps helicopter, officials said.

A pilot reported seeing a fireball near where the aircraft collided, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said.

The crash was reported at 7:10 p.m., about 50 miles off the San Diego County coast and 15 miles east of San Clemente Island, Coast Guard spokeswoman Petty Officer Allyson Conroy said.

Cpl Michael Stevens, a spokesman for the Miramar Marine Corps Air Station, confirmed an AH-1W Super Cobra helicopter had gone down, but he had no further information. He said it belonged to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing stationed at Camp Pendleton.

The Coast Guard informed the FAA that debris from a C-130 had been spotted, Gregor said. Seven people were on board the C-130 and two people were aboard the helicopter, Gregor said. The C-130 is a long-range surveillance and transport, fixed-wing aircraft that is used to perform a variety of missions.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/10/ap_midair_collision_103009/