Marine Helicopter Crash in Laguna Hills Kills 1; 4 Hurt

A U.S. Marine Corps Super Stallion helicopter on a training mission crashed Sunday in a vacant field in Laguna Hills, killing one person and injuring four others, a Marine spokesman said.

All aboard were military personnel. Their names were not immediately released.

A spokesman for the El Toro Marine Base said that one of the injured was taken to Mission Community Hospital. The others were taken to a medical clinic at the base.

The CH-53 went down in a barren field in a northern section of the Aliso Viejo Ranch, owned by the Mission Viejo Co. The crash site was several miles from El Toro Marine Base and almost a mile from a residential community adjacent to Moulton and Alicia parkways.

The helicopter, based in New River, N.C., was taking part in training exercises at the Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, the spokesman said.

At the crash site, a persistent fire from the wreckage kept Marine firefighters busy for almost two hours. The helicopter’s tail section and rear rotor were intact, but the front section was destroyed.