Focus Falls On Cause Of Collision Off Calif. Coast

CHRISTOPHER WEBER

LOS ANGELES (AP) — With the possibility of finding survivors all but gone and the ocean search shifted from a rescue effort to a recovery mission, focus fell Monday on what caused a Marine Corps helicopter and U.S. Coast Guard plane to collide over the Pacific.

Petty Officer First Class Allison Conroy said there was little chance of finding survivors among the seven military personnel aboard the Coast Guard C-130 and the two in the Marine Corps AH-1W Super Cobra helicopter.

"We always hold out some hope, but at this point the Coast Guard has suspended the active search for survivors," Conroy said Sunday.

The two aircraft collided Thursday evening as the Coast Guard was searching for a missing boater. The Marine helicopter was flying in formation with another Cobra helicopter and two transports on a nighttime training exercise.

The crash investigation was being conducted jointly by the Coast Guard and the Marine Corps with support from the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board, Petty Officer Henry Dunphy said Sunday.