GC connections in CH-53E crash

Four Marines killed in an April 3 CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter crash near El Centro, Calif., have been identified. The Marines were assigned to Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 465 at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. The deceased Marines were Capt. Samuel A. Schultz, 1st Lt. Samuel D. Phillips, Gunnery Sgt. Derik R. Holley, and Lance Cpl. Taylor J. Conrad. Three of the crew have Gulf Coast (GC) connections. Capt. Schultz, 28, of Huntington Valley, Pa., and 1st Lt. Phillips, 27, of Pinehurst, N.C., were pilots assigned to squadron. The pilots had previously served at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla. Lance Cpl. Conrad, 24, of Baton Rouge, La., was a CH-53 helicopter crew chief. The CH-53E crashed some 15 miles west of El Centro in the mid-afternoon. The crew was conducting training for “aircraft landings in unimproved zones,” the Marines’ statement indicated. The Marines have provided any additiona information on the crash, citing an ongoing investigation. (Source: USNI News 04/05/18)