2009 California mid-air collision

At 19:10 local time on 29 October 2009 (02:10 on 30 October UTC), a Lockheed HC-130H Hercules aircraft of the United States Coast Guard and a Bell AH-1W Super Cobra helicopter of the United States Marine Corps collided in mid-air. The location of the accident was 24 kilometres (15 mi) east off San Clemente Island, California. The Hercules was carrying a crew of seven and the Cobra a crew of two people; there were no survivors.[1] Eyewitnesses reported seeing a fireball in the sky.[2] Debris from the collision was reported at the scene.[3] The Hercules was on a mission to search for a missing rower while the Super Cobra was on a training flight.[4] Two Sikorsky MH-60J helicopters along with USCGC Edisto, USCGC Petrel and USCGC Blackfin were sent to search the area.[5] USCGC Blacktip, USCGC George Cobb and USCGC Jarvis later joined the search.[6]

A joint investigation by the United States Coast Guard and the U.S. Marine Corps was opened into the accident, headed by Rear Admiral Korn.[6] The investigation concluded in mid-2010 and each agency released its own report of findings. Both agencies found that there was no single cause for the incident, and there was no misconduct on the part of any aircrew involved. However, both identified serious failings on the part of the U.S. Navy air traffic control center that had responsibility for the airspace within which the collision occurred.[8]

• 2009 Hudson River mid-air collision