Guthrie sailor dies in crash
Guthrie sailor dies in crash

By The Associated Press
Published: January 19, 2008

McALLEN, Texas — The type of Navy helicopter that crashed near Corpus Christi, killing an Oklahoman and two other crew members and injuring one, has a checkered safety history that makes it the Navy's most accident-prone helicopter.

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Past incidents

Here's a look at past accidents involving the Navy's Sea Dragons:

•1988: The Navy's most deadly Sea Dragon crash occurred July 18, 1988 when eight service members were killed when their helicopter crashed into the Pacific Ocean off San Francisco.

•1996 and 2000: The Navy's Sea Dragons and the similar Super Stallion flown by the Marines were grounded after fatal crashes in 1996 and 2000 that pointed to a faulty mechanism in the main rotor.

Three months after an Aug. 10, 2000, crash of a Sea Dragon in the Gulf of Mexico off Corpus Christi that killed four crew members, the helicopters were put back into service with mechanical improvements and new warning systems.

The warning system immediately alerts the crew that bearings in the rotor system were deteriorating and that the rotors could seize up.

The Navy identified the dead crewmen late Friday as Lt. Joshua Gross, 30, from Alameda, Calif., and Aviation Warfare Systems Operators Second Class Alexander LeMarr, 25, of Parker, Colo., and David Davison, 22, of Guthrie. Friday, the condition of the injured crew member was upgraded from critical to fair, said hospital spokeswoman Sherry Carr-Deer.

Investigations to determine what caused the MH-53E Sea Dragon from Naval Air Station Corpus Christi to crash in a muddy field could take months, but a check of the helicopter's accident history, referred to by the Naval Safety Center as "mishaps,” shows the work-horse helicopter has accidents more than twice as often as the Navy's other helicopters.

Since the Navy began flying Sea Dragons in 1984, 27 people, including Wednesday's victims, have died in crashes, according to the Naval Safety Center. Its rate of serious mishaps — more than $1 million in damage or a fatality per 100,000 flight hours — is 5.96. The average for Navy helicopters since 1980 is 2.26.

Wednesday's crash occurred a few miles south of Corpus Christi in sparsely populated farmland.

The wrecked helicopter lay at the base of a 1,000-foot television transmission tower, whose owner said it had been struck by the helicopter. The area had been surrounded by dense fog the night of the crash.