Copter Crash Kills 12 Coalition Marines 
March 21, 2003 09:55 AM EST 
WASHINGTON - A U.S. Marine helicopter crashed in Kuwait Thursday, killing all 12 American and British marines aboard, military officials said. 

The crash of the CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter killed 8 British and four U.S. marines, officials said. The helicopter was assigned to the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force. 

The helicopter crashed at 7:37 p.m. EST - Friday morning in Kuwait - about 9 miles away from the border with Iraq, military officials said. The cause of the crash is under investigation, the officials said, adding that hostile fire had not been reported in the area. 
 


CH-46 Sea Knight
File Photo - Click to see fact file
The Marines use the Sea Knight, a bus-like helicopter
with two large rotors, to fly troops from ships at sea or base camps to forward positions. 

The Navy and Marines grounded all 291 Sea Knight helicopters in August after an inspection of one
helicopter in North Carolina found a crack in a rotor assembly. A Marine Corps CH-46 crashed in 2001, 
killing three Marines and injuring two.