Midair helicopter collision kills 7 Marines

From Barbara Starr, CNN Pentagon Correspondent

updated 12:46 PM EST, Thu February 23, 2012

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: Six of the Marines who died were from Camp Pendleton
• The Marine Corps says the collision occurred during routine training
• A UH-1Y helicopter and an AH-1W helicopter crash midair
• Spokeswoman: Marines onboard were preparing to deploy to Afghanistan

(CNN) -- Seven U.S. Marines were killed in the midair collision of two U.S. military helicopters in southern Arizona, officials said Thursday.

The crash occurred during routine training operations Wednesday night along the California-Arizona border, the Marine Corps said in a statement.

The collision, which occurred near the Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, involved an AH-1W "Super Cobra" attack helicopter and a UH-1Y "Huey" utility chopper.

The aircraft were part of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing and based in Camp Pendleton in California.

Six of the Marines killed in the crash were from Camp Pendleton, and one was from Yuma, the Marine Corps said.

Authorities were investigating the collision.

"We won't know exactly what happened until the investigation is complete, and we can't make any assumptions right now," said 1st Lt. Maureen Dooley, a Marine Corps spokeswoman.

The Marines onboard were preparing for deployment to Afghanistan, she said.

This UH-1Y Huey is on the flight line at Camp Bastion, Afghanistan.

"We have aircraft going out to Yuma training ranges on a weekly basis, and they go out there primarily because the aircraft mimics what they will see in Afghanistan," Dooley said.

Authorities did not plan to release the names of the Marines involved until their families were notified.

Marine Corps Air Station Yuma is home to about 4,000 active duty Marines and sailors. It supports 80% of the Marine Corps air-to-ground aviation training and covers five square miles in southeastern Yuma.

The air station "hosts approximately 70 aviation units, bringing an average of 600 aircraft and 14,000 personnel for ongoing training that takes place throughout the year," utilizing U.S. and NATO forces, the station's website said.

The military has long used the AH-1W and UH-1 Huey for a variety of tasks. The military describes the AH-1W as "the backbone of the United States Marine Corps' attack helicopter fleet." The UH-1Y is a twin-engine, medium-size helicopter, according to the military.

CNN's Ashley Hayes and Moni Basu contributed to this report.

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