Two Marine officers who were killed when their helicopter crashed at the Combat Center in January disregarded warning lights that indicated an emergency with the aircraft’s oil pressure. The Marine Corps Times obtained a copy of the investigation into the crash and reported Sunday that the UH-1Y Huey helicopter was just 400 yards from its destination on the Twentynine Palms Marine Base when it abrupty fell 200 feet and crashed January 23. The investigative report found that the pilots—Major Elizabeth Kealey and Captain Adam Satterfield—most likely assumed the warning lights were due to a malfunctioning oil pressure gauge, and not because of an actual loss of oil, since maintenance had been performed on the helicopter’s oil pressure sensors a week earlier. However, the report found that the filter cover had been improperly installed, which caused the transmission to lose its oil during the 49-minute flight from Camp Pendleton to Twentynine Palms. The transmission then seized up, which stopped the helicopter’s rotors and caused it to abruptly fall out of the sky. The Marine Corps Times notes that when the warning light came on, the pilots could have diverted and landed safely at either the Palms Springs or Yucca Valley airports, but instead called ahead to have mechanics waiting for them at the Combat Center’s airfield. Major Elizabeth Kealey and Captain Adam Satterfield—who were both posthumously promoted—were alive when they were pulled from the wreckage, but died shortly afterward at area hospitals. The report concludes that there was no negligence nor should any punitive action be taken.
PILOT ERROR, FAULTY PART CAUSED FATAL TWENTYNINE PALMS MARINE HELICOPTER CRASH
