Navy Chopper, Coast Guard Plane Collide

(CBS/AP)  Last Updated 1:42 p.m. ET

Investigators are trying to determine why a Coast Guard airplane on a nighttime search for a boater collided with one of four Marine Corps helicopters flying in formation to a military training island off Southern California Thursday evening.

All seven people aboard the Coast Guard C-130 plane and the two-person crew of the Marine Corps AH-1W Super Cobra helicopter remain missing Friday.

Search crews this morning were scanning an ocean debris field spotted between San Clemente Island and the San Diego County coast, spokespersons for the Coast Guard and the Marine Corps.

"We are always hopeful ... the assumption is always that they are alive," said USCG Capt. Thomas Farris.

CBS Affiliate KFMB reports the maritime agency sent three cutters and an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter to the area to search for survivors, while the Navy sent four vessels and multiple helicopters.

"The search conditions are ideal," Lt. Josh Nelson of the Coast Guard told XETV in San Diego. "We've got a clear sky, the winds are calm, the seas are calm, and we have a lot of assets out there."

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman says that although the search continues, the collision likely killed the nine crew members.

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.

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

Four Marine aircraft - two AH-1W Cobras and two Ch-53 - were conducting an exercise in the area when one of the Cobras collided with a Coast Guard C-130 searching for a missing ship. The other three pilots all witnessed the collision and were able to provide search-and-rescue with very precise locations of wreckage and a tight search area, CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports, citing a military official.

The FAA's Gregor says the Thursday night crash occurred minutes after FAA controllers instructed the Coast Guard C-130 pilot to begin communicating with military air controllers.

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.

The C-130 is a long-range surveillance and transport, fixed-wing aircraft that is used to perform a variety of missions.

San Clemente Island is the southernmost of the eight Channel Islands located 68 nautical miles west of San Diego. The Navy has owned and trained at San Clemente Island since 1934, according to the island's Web site. Naval Air Station, North Island is responsible for the island's administration.

Earlier this week, it was an AH-1 Cobra attack helicopter that collided with a UH-1 helicopter over southern Afghanistan, killing four American troops and wounding two more, a Marine spokesman said.

Also this week, a U.S. military helicopter crashed Monday while returning from the scene of a firefight with suspected Taliban drug traffickers in western Afghanistan, killing 10 Americans including three DEA agents in a not-so-noticed war within a war.

(CBS)

U.S. military officials insisted neither crash was believed a result of hostile fire, although the Taliban claimed they shot down a U.S. helicopter in the western province of Badghis.

[lynn3765]

I'll add my comments on the idea the USCG is not a military service. I retired from the USCG after 24 years of active duty service. We sign the same military service contracts as anyone else (as in your favored DoD) and you know something Ms Enza..there are CG units patrolling the waters overseas, in the Persian Gulf. In case you don't know where that is, it is near Iran and Iraq. We are also the only service with law enforcement authority and we do the same jobs whether in peacetime or in war. The only difference is that in a declared war, we MAY fall under the Secretary of Navy but even that is not necessarily done. We lost seven members of the CG family; a memorial service was held yesterday for all those lost, CG and Marines alike. The bell has been rung as we aid our fallen Coasties and Marines in crossing the bar. Take your rest, we have taken over the watch.

[kanji9r]

Unfortunately, the argument is mute. The real tragedy here is that 9 good people lost their lives. Why are you arguing about who is a military organization and who is not. I'm a retired Marine and proud of it. But I'm also proud of what the Coast Guard does for this nation on a DAILY basis. Instead of the despicable argument of who is and who is not, it would better serve the families of those who lost loved ones if we could all just include them in our prayers. God bless them all.

[kaywilliams09]

ms_enza,

Obviously others agree with me when I say you are a disgrace to the term "American." I am currently sitting at home alone, while my husband stands duty on Lake Superior as a BM3 in the United States Coast Guard. I am disgusted at your mis-informed and frankly ******* comment. The Coast Guard is the MILITARY. True they fall under the Department of Homeland Security rather than the Department of Defense, but they are MILITARY nonetheless.

And, I am not alone when I say this: you ask any wife, mother, father, son, daughter, husband, or ANY other family member of a United States Coastguardsman or woman and they will quickly tell you that what their loved one does in the Coast Guard is just as honorable as the jobs of those brave soldiers fighting for our freedom overseas. And yes, you better believe that if you were in trouble on the water, my husband, along with many others, would risk his life to save you. Think about that. Knowing that your comment blatantly disrespected men and women that would die for you. If you have anything resembling a heart or American pride, I would appreciate an apology, as would others who have been deeply offended by your vain attempt at sounding intelligent. I believe that isn't too much to ask seeing as how my husband might risk his life for yours one day.

[AOCGUY]

I might be wrong but given where they were flying I suspect they were under FAA control not military. Any fliers out there familiar with the area? I did make the same observation to folks in my office, most of which are ret military pilots and navs and they didn't undersand it either. From what I gather skies were clear.

[ibsteve2u]

Egads...you'd think after the abortive Iran hostage rescue attempt our military air traffic controllers would know to keep choppers and C-130s a long, long way apart from each other.

[jaddante]

Ms_enza how dare you, if you dont know what or who the USCG is then shut the hell up. I was in the Coast Guard and I can tell you this, that if it was not for the USCG more drugs would be hitting the shores and in the hands of your kids. The fishing fleets that catch the fish you eat would not have a saving grace when in distress if it was not for the Men and Women of the U.S. Coast Guard. So the next time you take a plane trip or a cruse and you need HELP on the ocean you can bet your life that the Coast Guard will be there to help even a jerk like you....

[sassalin31]

Ms_enza,

Before you write something you should check your information. It makes you looks uneducated and frankly, disrespectful but in your case I will error on the side that you are actually uneducated and disrespectful

I am in the Coast Guard and have been in for 10 years now. I have dealt with your kind on many occasions. All I can say is don?t comment unless you have the courage to do the job those men and women were out there doing.

I pray the crash victims are found alive and well. I pray for the families of members and the men and women who knew and served with them.

[scruffs444]

How can you even waste your time with whether the CG is mil or not? I spent the whole night awakeand crying thinking my good friend was on the C130 that crashed--that is what he flies and he is stationed in Sacramento. I just found out an hour ago that he was not on the plane. I am relieved for him but still so sad for the families and friends that lost nine loved ones last night. I am praying for them. Military or not....does it really matter?

[AOCGUY]

scruffs - This discussion other than one idiot's comments does not nor is it intended to take away from the fact that America lost 9 of its best. What we are saying is to counter the charge that referring to our USCGG brethren in arms somehow reflects a desire to make this nation a military dictatorship which impunes the integrity of all who wear the uniform.

[Eve3b]

The United States Coast Guard is a Military service. http://www.uscg.mil/
Notice the .mil The United States Coast Guard even while under the Department of Transportation was always considered a military service. We have served in every war in US History! Go look it up. Look-up Douglas Monroe a Medal of Honor Winner USCG! This is infuriating, and disrespectful.
As a USCG Veteran of 7 years I am offended

[AOCGUY]

Eve3b - As an American I thank you for for your service, and as a retired "military" member I'm offended by ms-enza's total lack of understanding of this nation's military services.

[docpeter1953]

And you should be offended. Coast Guardsmen/women are not "just shallow water sailors" as the Navy refers to them.

Thank you for your service to America. In many ways the jobs you do, closer to home, provide as much, if not more, security to this nation than fighting a war in or at some foreign country.

[phwtb]

Ms_enza, I hate to bust your bubble but the USCG is a member of the US Military AT ALL TIMES- NOT just under declaration of war. The USCG answers to the US Navy during war and the Department of Transportation in peace time. And why would you ever consider NOAA and the Health Department any where close to the military services of the United States? That's like adding in the USPS and Animal Control.

Furthermore, where do you get off saying we are trying to turn our country into a military dictatorship? Obviously you have no clue as to how our military services operate. Might I suggest you either go back and finish high school or go back to where ever it is you claim your nationality.

The legal basis for the Coast Guard is Title 14 of the United States Code, which states: "The Coast Guard as established January 28, 1915, shall be a military service and a branch of the armed forces of the United States at all times." Upon the declaration of war or when the President directs, the Coast Guard operates under the authority of the Department of the Navy.

As members of a military service, Guardians on active duty and in the Reserve are subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice and receive the same pay and allowances as members of the same pay grades in the other four armed services.

Today?s U.S. Coast Guard, has nearly 42,000 men and women on active duty, and is a unique force that carries out an array of civil and military responsibilities touching almost every facet of the U.S. maritime environment.

As for every one out there that feels these young men and womens' death are less than note worthy, I have this to say to each of you- They, along with every other MILITARY MEMBER, deserve the respect and support of EVERY US Citizen. If you don't like the way this country operates LEAVE. No one asked you to come here in the first place.

[NYCJohn]

Just a minor correction. The Coast guard is no longer part of the Dept. of Transportation. It is now under the Dept. of Homeland security.

[sassalin31]

Great comment. I am in the Coast Guard and we protect American citizens each and every day. We put our lives on the line, as in this case. We are in the military but that fact has no bearing here and should not be mentioned. These deaths are a tragic accident for the Coast Guard and the other military service.

I pray they find survivors and pray for the crews that are currently searching for them.