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Author Topic: U.S. Marine helicopter with 8 on board missing in Nepal UPDATE: Wreckage Found  (Read 898 times)

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Offline EC

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U.S. Marine helicopter with 8 on board missing in Nepal UPDATE: Wreckage Found
« on: May 12, 2015, 06:27:07 pm »
Pray, please?

U.S. officials say a U.S. Marine Corps helicopter providing assistance in the wake of the Nepal earthquake is missing.

In a statement to CBS News, the U.S. Pacific Command confirms a Marine UH-1 Yankee Huey helicopter is missing. The Pentagon says six U.S. Marines and two Nepalese soldiers were aboard the helicopter.

The Command says the incident occurred near Charikot, Nepal "while the aircraft was conducting humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations in support of the recent Nepal earthquakes."

There is hope it did not crash, CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports.

Just before it lost communication around 10 pm local time in Nepal, it sent out a message picked up by an Indian helicopter that it was having a fuel problem, Martin reports. It's not clear if it was low on fuel or if it was a clogged fuel line. The hope is that the helicopter landed and is now unable to communicate because of the mountainous terrain.

It had just dropped off a load of supplies at Charikot and was headed toward a second site when it reported the problem, Martin reports. There is currently no air search because of darkness but the Nepalese army is out looking.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-marine-helicopter-missing-in-nepal-earthquake-aid-mission/
« Last Edit: May 15, 2015, 06:25:02 am by EC »
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Offline EC

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Re: U.S. Marine helicopter with 8 on board missing in Nepal
« Reply #1 on: May 13, 2015, 10:29:08 pm »
Quote
Fox News ‏@FoxNews 9m9 minutes ago

Still no sign of 6 U.S. Marines whose chopper was delivering disaster aid in Nepal. #SpecialReport

It's been over 24 hours. Not looking good at all.
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Offline DCPatriot

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Re: U.S. Marine helicopter with 8 on board missing in Nepal
« Reply #2 on: May 14, 2015, 12:16:40 am »
Quote from: EC on May 13, 2015, 10:29:08 pm
It's been over 24 hours. Not looking good at all.

I thought of you immediately upon hearing it.

Also, wondering WTH our marines are doing there.
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Offline EC

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Re: U.S. Marine helicopter with 8 on board missing in Nepal
« Reply #3 on: May 14, 2015, 12:33:49 am »
"They'll be doing their job, Sir." That's the response you'd get!  :laugh:

They are in doing SAR with a sideline in delivering relief supplies, and none better to do it. The USMC has search and rescue down to a fine art - I'd want them looking for me in a disaster. They have the tools and the skills and simply don't give up.

As far as this situation goes - it's grim. Rough terrain, limited landing zones and those will be treacherous as hell, fine blowing dust, the girl will be operating at close to her operational ceiling as a matter of course - not good conditions. Marine pilots are good, usually very good, but it's a horrible baseline condition to be working from. I don't have a whole lot of hope, other than the fact they ARE Marines.
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Offline DCPatriot

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Re: U.S. Marine helicopter with 8 on board missing in Nepal
« Reply #4 on: May 14, 2015, 12:36:48 am »
Quote from: EC on May 14, 2015, 12:33:49 am
"They'll be doing their job, Sir." That's the response you'd get!  :laugh:

They are in doing SAR with a sideline in delivering relief supplies, and none better to do it. The USMC has search and rescue down to a fine art - I'd want them looking for me in a disaster. They have the tools and the skills and simply don't give up.

As far as this situation goes - it's grim. Rough terrain, limited landing zones and those will be treacherous as hell, fine blowing dust, the girl will be operating at close to her operational ceiling as a matter of course - not good conditions. Marine pilots are good, usually very good, but it's a horrible baseline condition to be working from. I don't have a whole lot of hope, other than the fact they ARE Marines.

Thanks for the insight, EC!

Hoping for the best.
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"It aint what you don't know that kills you.  It's what you know that aint so!" ...Theodore Sturgeon

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Offline flowers

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Re: U.S. Marine helicopter with 8 on board missing in Nepal
« Reply #5 on: May 14, 2015, 04:34:07 pm »
What is the status on this helicopter?
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Offline EC

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Re: U.S. Marine helicopter with 8 on board missing in Nepal
« Reply #6 on: May 14, 2015, 06:46:38 pm »
Still no word.  **nononono*
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Offline flowers

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Re: U.S. Marine helicopter with 8 on board missing in Nepal
« Reply #7 on: May 14, 2015, 07:02:43 pm »
Quote from: EC on May 14, 2015, 06:46:38 pm
Still no word.  **nononono*
That is not good at all.
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Offline EC

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Re: U.S. Marine helicopter with 8 on board missing in Nepal
« Reply #8 on: May 14, 2015, 08:51:34 pm »
Nepal Earthquake: Why Can't Crews Find Missing Military Chopper?

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/nepal-earthquake/nepal-earthquake-why-cant-crews-find-missing-military-chopper-n358916

Reasonably well informed speculation, but it is pure speculation.

Mountains do weird things to radios and satphones (and radars, but that is a plus in my book!). Depending on the rock types and it's geometry, radio signals can be reflected off in odd directions or simply be absorbed. It's why you always, always, always use map co-ordinates and a physical map when inserting/extracting in mountains. GPS often simply doesn't work.
Humping the chopper radio to a high point is problematic for a couple of reasons - they are not easy to remove, and run on the same 24 volt system as the rest of the instrumentation. Those batteries are bloody heavy and even harder to get out than the radio!
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Offline EC

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Re: U.S. Marine helicopter with 8 on board missing in Nepal UPDATE: Wreckage Found
« Reply #9 on: May 15, 2015, 06:26:00 am »
Wreckage Of Missing US Helicopter Found In Nepal



The Nepal army has said the wreckage of a missing US military helicopter has been found, according to the AFP news agency.

Major General Binoj Basnet said the helicopter, which went missing while delivering aid to people affected by the earthquakes in the country, was located near the Chinese border.

He said: "We don't know if there are any survivors, we have yet to confirm that.

"We have sighted the wreckage from the air, we are now trying to land in the area and get more information."

More follows...

http://news.sky.com/story/1484405/wreckage-of-missing-us-helicopter-found-in-nepal
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Offline EC

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Re: U.S. Marine helicopter with 8 on board missing in Nepal UPDATE: Wreckage Found
« Reply #10 on: May 15, 2015, 07:54:08 am »
KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Nepal's Defense Secretary Iswori Poudyal says army rescuers have found three bodies at the site where the wreckage of the U.S. Marine helicopter was found.

http://report24.co.uk/article/188064/nepal-rescuers-find-3-bodies-near-crashed-us-marine-chopper

I HATE being right.
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