Report made public on Marine Corps copter crash that killed 13 while trying to rescue survivors of earthquake in Nepal

SAN DIEGO - A decision to ferry injured survivors of a Nepalese earthquake over an unfamiliar route through the Himalayan mountains resulted in the crash of a Camp Pendleton-based helicopter and the deaths of the 13 people aboard, including six Marines, a military report announced today.

Those killed included Capt. Dustin R. Lukasiewicz, a pilot (Nebraska native) living in Fallbrook and Sgt. Eric M. Seaman, a father of two, from Murrieta.

Seaman, a six-year Marine veteran, was the crew chief for the UH-1 Y Huey, which crashed May 12 while on a relief mission in Nepal.

The Huey was part of the Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squad 469, based at Camp Pendleton.

Also aboard the flight were two Nepalese Army Liason soldiers and five injured Nepalese civilians.

US military aid had been provided to Nepal after the first of two major earthquakes, magnitude 7.8, which struck on April 25. A second earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.3, struck the area on May 12.

The civilians were being flown to Kathmandu from a village near Charikot, among the worst-hit towns by the second 'quake. The crew had delivered rice and tarpaulins on its inbound flight.

A report by the 111 Marine Expeditionary Force, based in Okinawa, Japan, said the crew of the helicopter decided to fly the most direct route back to Kathmandu "due to a real or perceived urgency in the condition of one or more of the embarked casualties.'

"The chosen course required a brief period over unfamiliar terrain with unstable meteorological conditions,'' the report said.

The report postulated that the aircraft was either enveloped by rapidly developing clouds, or lifted into a cloud by rising air currents.

"As they attempted to maneuver out of the weather conditions, they lost visual reference with the terrain and impacted the ground,'' the report said. The report acknowledged that in the absence of radio communication for the last 40 minutes of the flight, it was not possible to know exactly why the crew chose its fateful course.

Neither mechanical malfunction nor maintenance malpractice contributed to the crash, the report said.

The other Marine casualties were Capt. Christopher Norgren, 31, the pilot, of Wichita, Kansas; and Sgt. Ward M. Johnson, 29, of Florida, all members of Squadron 469, and Marine combat photographer Cpl. Sara Medina, of Illinois, and Marine combat videographer Lance Cpl. Jacob Hug, 22, of Phoenix.