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US military plane, helicopter collide, 9 missing

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-10-30 20:15

LOS ANGELES: The US Coast Guard and Navy were searching for as many as nine people off Southern California after a collision between a Coast Guard plane and a marine helicopter, officials said.

A pilot reported seeing a fireball in the vicinity of the suspected crash site, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said.

The crash was reported at 7:10 p.m. Thursday, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) east off San Clemente Island, Coast Guard spokeswoman Petty Officer Allyson Conroy said.

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Marine Corps spokesman Cpl Michael Stevens confirmed an AH-1 Cobra attack 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 plane was believed to be a C-130, a long-range surveillance and transport, fixed-wing aircraft that is used to perform a variety of missions. Seven people were on board the C-130 and two people were aboard the helicopter, Gregor said.

The Coast Guard said it sent three cutters and diverted an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter to the area to search for survivors, while the Navy sent four vessels and multiple helicopters.

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.

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.

Meanwhile, stormy weather forced the Coast Guard to suspend its search for two missing Navy pilots and their plane along the central Texas coast.

Petty Officer 1st Class Nayo Gallegos said crews would likely resume the search Friday morning after stopping around 8 p.m. Thursday because of limited visibility.

Air Station Corpus Christi lost contact with the Navy T-34 training plane Wednesday afternoon. The single-engine plane's last known location was near San Jose Island, east of Rockport and 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) off shore in the Gulf of Mexico.

A Coast Guard spokesman told the Corpus Christi Caller-Times that crews have made nearly 20 flights and covered more than 3,900 square miles (10,000 square kilometers).