2009 California mid-air collision
The 2009 California mid-air collision occurred at sea, west of San Diego, on 29 October. It involved a Lockheed HC-130H Hercules of the United States Coast Guard and a Bell AH-1W Super Cobra of the U.S. Marine Corps. There were no survivors among the nine crewmates aboard either aircraft. Accident. 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 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. Eyewitnesses reported seeing a fireball in the sky. Debris from the collision was reported at the scene. The Hercules was on a Search and Rescue mission to search for a sailboat in distress while the Super Cobra was on a training flight. Two Sikorsky CH-53E helicopters along with , and were sent to search the area. , and later joined the search. Aircraft. HC-130 Hercules. The HC-130H Hercules involved was serial number 1705 . The aircraft was c/n 382-4993 and it had formerly served with the United States Air Force as 83-0007. It was based at the Coast Guard Air Station in Sacramento, California. It had been in service previously at Air Station Barber’s Point, Hawaii. AH-1W Super Cobra. The Super Cobra was operated by Marine Aircraft Group 39, based at Camp Pendleton. Personnel aboard the aircraft belonged to Marine Aircraft Group 39 and the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, based at Miramar. Investigation. 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. 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.