After his son was killed in a Marine helicopter crash, a father says outdated expertise robbed family members of solutions

In an announcement to NBC Information on Friday, a Marine spokesperson confirmed that upgrading the Tremendous Stallions with the expertise is “cost-prohibitive” because of the remaining service lifetime of the plane.

The Marines have been utilizing the highly effective Tremendous Stallions to move heavy gear, provides and troops for greater than 30 years, in keeping with the Navy, which the Marine Corps is a part of. It can value practically $72 million to interchange the Tremendous Stallion destroyed within the crash, in keeping with the investigation report.

“The investigation crew for this mishap labored exhaustively, totally evaluating potential situations and simulations to attract conclusions from the out there knowledge and evaluation,” the spokesperson for the third Marine Plane Wing stated.

Nonetheless, the most recent variant of Marine Corps helicopters, referred to as the CH-53K King Stallion, is supplied with a crash survivable flight knowledge recorder with voice recording functionality, and is predicted to interchange the outdated Tremendous Stallion fleet by fiscal yr 2032, a spokesperson stated.

And the Marines introduced in July 2023 that they might start integrating a crash survivable, high-temperature, fire-resistant flight knowledge recorder into all of its MV-22B Ospreys after one other deadly incident.

The daddy’s push to replace antiquated federal expertise comes after a string of aviation disasters this yr, together with the deadliest U.S. air crash in nearly 1 / 4 century. On Jan. 29, an Military Black Hawk collided right into a business airplane midair close to Washington, D.C., killing all 67 individuals aboard each the aircraft and helicopter.

The Military helicopter had a black field, which officers stated that they had recovered in good situation.

Throughout that investigation, Langen stated, “there have been plenty of questions that have been answered.” Investigators have been in a position to totally temporary reporters with what that they had and what they have been nonetheless trying into lower than a month after the catastrophe.

“We’re by no means gonna have that,” Langen stated.

Nationwide, amid shut calls and gear malfunctions, fearful pilots and air site visitors controllers are additionally imploring the Federal Aviation Administration to repair its growing old infrastructure.

The decision for change follows scrutiny of the Tremendous Stallion over repeated mechanical failures.

In 2014, a Tremendous Stallion carrying 25 service members crashed because of the catastrophic failure of certainly one of its engines, though all of the passengers survived. 4 years later, 4 Marines have been killed when their Tremendous Stallion crashed throughout a coaching mission in Southern California.

A Marine investigation discovered the 2018 crash was attributable to a faulty half, in keeping with a lawsuit filed by the households of the Marines in opposition to the provider and producer of the half. The case was settled, and the settlement was confidential, in keeping with Dave Casey, the San Diego lawyer representing the pilots.

The February 2024 crash that killed Langen’s son was not a results of a cloth or mechanical failure of any part on the plane, investigators stated, though they stated the helicopter’s engine warning mild erroneously turned on earlier within the day resulting from a frayed wire.

Investigators made some suggestions to Marine management, together with clarifying obscure language in protocols and figuring out how finest to self-discipline the squadron’s commanding officer for authorizing the flight, however they didn’t deal with the shortage of knowledge that hindered its investigation.

“As a mother or father, you wish to know what occurred,” Langen stated.

The 5 members of Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 361 took off from Imperial County Airport, the place they refueled from an earlier flight to Nevada, and headed house to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego shortly after 10 p.m. on Feb. 6, 2024, in keeping with the investigation report.

There have been three pilots on board: Capt. Miguel Nava, 28; Capt. Benjamin Moulton, 27; and Capt. Jack Casey, 26. Additionally on board was Lance Cpl. Donovan Davis, 21, who was lately promoted.

Sgt. Alec Langen, 23, was the crew chief, answerable for the protection of passengers and different cargo, in addition to in-flight upkeep. He had simply gotten married a couple of month earlier than, his father stated.

And Nava, of Traverse Metropolis, Michigan, had simply turn into a father, welcoming a child boy together with his spouse about 4 months prior, his household advised NBC Information.

About half-hour into their flight, all of them crashed right into a mountain ridge close to Pine Valley, California.

It took search-and-rescue groups about 10 hours to seek out their our bodies in a distant space lined in snow. A minimum of two of them have been killed immediately, and one was fully unrecognizable, present in a burning pool of jet gasoline, the report stated.

“The toughest half to learn was that the 5 of them laid there till 8 within the morning,” Langen stated.

Deteriorating climate situations ought to have signaled to the crew that it was not possible to fly safely, investigators stated, however they may not “pinpoint one clarification” for why they took off.

Within the rapid aftermath of the crash, Davis’ father stated the household was “struggling to know the operational necessity for flying into one of many worst storms in Southern California historical past.”

Gregory Davis had requested the Protection Division to conduct an intensive investigation into the circumstances behind the choices that led to the crash “in order that we might have some understanding and closure for the seemingly mindless lack of our son and brother.”

In November 2024, the crew’s commanding officer was fired after officers decided he “exhibited poor judgment” and “exceeded his authority” in approving the flight, in keeping with the report.

Investigators stated he ought to have taken extra than simply two minutes to talk with the pilot about climate situations and their deliberate route, and that he ought to have sought flight approval from a higher-up, however they didn’t blame him for the crash.

Langen stated he and his spouse “by no means wished any fingers to be pointed.” They only wished solutions for why they now not had their “bigger than life” son, who towered over most individuals at 6-foot-5, at all times had a smile, and adopted in his veteran dad’s footsteps.

To search out extra readability, Langen stated he studied post-mortem experiences and the 1,140-page investigation report, which was closely redacted at instances. He additionally examined the gut-wrenching pictures of the accident and visited the crash web site.

That solely yielded extra heartbreak.

As a substitute, Langen laid his son to relaxation with out figuring out what occurred in his closing moments. The household held his funeral at Phoenix Sky Harbor Worldwide Airport, the place officers briefly shut down the airspace to honor a person who had served for seven years and deliberate to make a profession as a Marine, Langen stated.

When he died, Alec Langen was simply three weeks shy of being transferred to a safer job, his father stated.