SAN DIEGO — The landing gear of a Marine helicopter apparently snagged a cargo net on the deck of a ship seconds before the aircraft crashed into the sea, killing seven of the 18 on board, a Defense Department official said Friday night.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said a video of the incident shot by the Navy captured the sequence that led to the crash of the big CH-46 Sea Knight chopper as it was taking off from the oiler Pecos on Thursday afternoon.
The Navy said someone aboard the helicopter, unaware that the wheel had snagged, had given the pilot a "thumbs up" signal that the helicopter was ready for takeoff.
The revelations about what might have caused the crash emerged Friday as the Marine Corps declared that six missing Marines and a missing sailor were considered officially lost at sea.
The Navy said a massive search effort, centered on the crash site about 14 miles off Point Loma, is now considered a recovery operation, rather than a rescue operation.
The American flag was lowered to half-staff at Camp Pendleton on Friday and a prayer service was held aboard the amphibious assault ship Bonhomme Richard. Led by Catholic Msgr. Joseph Carroll, military families and others held a candlelight vigil at the Cabrillo National Monument in San Diego.
"Our hearts and prayers go out to the Marines and sailors of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit," said Marine Lt. Gen. Bruce Knutson Jr. "We are doing everything we can to support them in this time of sorrow."
Late Friday, after notifying their families, the Marine Corps released the names of the seven missing men:
* Cpl. Mark M. Baca, 22, of Arvada, Colo.
* Staff Sgt. William Dame, 33, of Yuma, Ariz.
* Staff Sgt. David E. Galloway, 28, of Oregon City, Ore.
* Gunnery Sgt. James P. Paige, 37, Jr. of Middlesex, N.J.
* Staff Sgt. Vincent Sabasteanski, 34, of Cumberland, Maine.
* Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Starling, 27, of South Dayton, Fla.
* Navy Petty Officer Jay J. Asis, 33, of Quezon City, the Philippines, a medical corpsman.
President Clinton, addressing a business group in Arkansas, said the crash demonstrates that military service, even in peacetime, is dangerous and that military personnel deserve the nation's gratitude. "Our thoughts and prayers are with them," Clinton said of the seven and their families.
