Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 469 (HMLA-469) was a

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

helicopter squadron consisting of AH-1 SuperCobra and

AH-1Z Viper The Bell AH-1Z Viper is a twin-engine attack helicopter, based on the AH-1W SuperCobra, designed and produced by the American aerospace manufacturer Bell Helicopter. Being one of the latest members of the prolific Bell Huey family, it is also ca ...

attack helicopters An attack helicopter is an armed helicopter with the primary role of an attack aircraft, with the offensive capability of engaging ground targets such as enemy infantry, military vehicles and fortifications. Due to their heavy armament they ...

and

UH-1Y Venom The Bell UH-1Y VenomDoD 4120-15L, ''Model Desi ...

utility helicopter A utility helicopter is a multi-purpose helicopter capable of fulfilling many different roles. Civil Many civilian helicopters are made for utility work such as agricultural aircraft. Many police and fire departments maintain and operate utili ...

s. The squadron was headquartered at

Marine Corps Air Station Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Air Station Camp Pendleton or MCAS Camp Pendleton is a United States Marine Corps airfield located within Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. It was commissioned in 1942 and is currently home to Marine Aircraft Group 39. ...

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

and fell under the command of

Marine Aircraft Group 39 Marine Aircraft Group 39 (MAG-39) is a United States Marine Corps aviation unit based at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California that is currently composed of four AH-1Z "Viper" Cobra and UH-1Y "Venom" Huey light attack squadrons, two MV-2 ...

(MAG-39) and the

3rd Marine Aircraft Wing The 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (abbreviated as 3rd MAW) is the major west coast aviation unit of the United States Marine Corps. It is headquartered at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, in San Diego, California and provides the aviation combat el ...

(3rd MAW). The squadron was activated on June 30, 2009 and deactivated on December 16 2022.

Mission

The mission of the HMLA is to support the Marine Air-Ground Task Force Commander by providing offensive air support, utility support, armed escort and airborne supporting arms coordination, day or night under all weather conditions during expeditionary, joint or combined operations.

History

On October 29, 2009 a

US Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, multi ...

HC-130 The Lockheed HC-130 is an extended-range, search and rescue (SAR)/ combat search and rescue (CSAR) version of the C-130 Hercules military transport aircraft, with two different versions operated by two separate services in the U.S. armed fo ...

aircraft with seven crewmembers collided with an HMLA-469

AH-1 Cobra The Bell AH-1 Cobra is a single-engined attack helicopter developed and manufactured by the American rotorcraft manufacturer Bell Helicopter. A member of the prolific Huey family, the AH-1 is also referred to as the HueyCobra or Snake. The A ...

helicopter with two crewmembers east of

San Clemente Island San Clemente Island (Tongva: ''Kinkipar''; Spanish: ''Isla de San Clemente'') is the southernmost of the Channel Islands of California. It is owned and operated by the United States Navy, and is a part of Los Angeles County. It is administered b ...

. Both aircraft crashed into the Pacific Ocean and all nine crewmembers in both aircraft were killed. The Coast Guard's HC-130 was searching for a missing boater while the Marine Corps' helicopter was heading towards a military training area in company with another Cobra and two

CH-53E Super Stallion The Sikorsky CH-53E Super Stallion is a heavy-lift helicopter operated by the United States military. As the Sikorsky S-80, it was developed from the CH-53 Sea Stallion, mainly by adding a third engine, adding a seventh blade to the main rotor, ...

s from

Marine Corps Air Station Miramar Marine Corps Air Station Miramar (MCAS Miramar) , formerly Naval Auxiliary Air Station (NAAS) Miramar and Naval Air Station (NAS) Miramar, is a United States Marine Corps installation that is home to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, which is the av ...

.Steele, Jeanette, "Search For Crash Answers", ''

San Diego Union-Tribune ''The San Diego Union-Tribune'' is a metropolitan daily newspaper published in San Diego, California, that has run since 1868. Its name derives from a 1992 merger between the two major daily newspapers at the time, ''The San Diego Union'' and ...

'', October 31, 2009, p. 1.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hmla-469 LA469

Mission

History

See also

References

External links