Military Accidents

A veteran test pilot was killed Wednesday when an F-22 Raptor, an Air Force fighter plane designed to provide "air dominance" with its missiles and cannons, crashed in the high desert outside Edwards Air Force Base. The pilot was identified as David Cooley, 49, a 21-year Air Force veteran who joined Lockheed Martin Corp., the plane's principal contractor, in 2003. Cooley, of Palmdale, was pronounced dead at Victor Valley Community Hospital in Victorville.

The U.S. military has lost focus on its nuclear-weapons mission and has suffered a sharp decline in nuclear expertise, factors that may have contributed to a mishap last year in which a B-52 bomber unknowingly carried six nuclear warheads across the country, according to two new independent reviews. Both studies found that levels of nuclear training and alertness at the Air Force slipped after the end of the Cold War.

A National Guard helicopter on a U.S. Border Patrol mission crashed into Otay Mountain on Tuesday, injuring five agents and four guardsmen. The cause of the crash, which occurred about 20 miles east of San Diego, has not been determined. The helicopter was ferrying agents to a remote area near the U.S.-Mexico border for an afternoon foot patrol. The National Guard has been assisting Border Patrol operations since the summer, providing transport, surveillance and other support.

At least 19 U.S. troops were killed in a helicopter crash and insurgent attacks across Iraq on Saturday in the deadliest day for the American military here in nearly two years. The U.S. military also reported the deaths of two other troops the previous day, and the surge in fatalities just days before President Bush's State of the Union address was likely to inject a note of urgency into the debate over his Iraq policy.

The Navy called off a search Saturday for three missing crew members of a helicopter that had crashed in the ocean 50 miles off California's southern coast. Friday's crash during a training mission left one sailor dead, and the Navy had searched for the others into Saturday. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Elizabeth Meydenbauer said water temperature and the time elapsed since the crash led Navy officials to deem the crew's survival unlikely. She said the search was stopped at 3 p.m.

A U.S. military helicopter crashed amid heavy gunfire Friday north of Baghdad, police and witnesses said -- the fourth American chopper to go down in two weeks. The U.S. military said two crew members were killed. The spate of attacks raised questions about whether insurgents were increasingly targeting aircraft, a crucial component of U.S. operations in Iraq. Not only do U.S.

One Marine was killed and 19 others were injured Saturday when a truck overturned during a training exercise at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. The injured were taken to hospitals, but details of their injuries were not immediately released. Their identities also were not released, but all were members of Miramar's 4th Tank Battalion, a base spokesman said. Training at the base has been suspended while the accident is under investigation.

Eleven Marines remain hospitalized and are expected to survive after a fatal rollover crash of a military truck at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, authorities said Sunday. One Marine was killed and eight others were treated and released after the 7-ton truck -- part of a six-vehicle convoy on regularly scheduled training -- rolled over an embankment on the base Saturday. The dead Marine was identified Sunday as Cpl. J. Gomez from Southern California. Base spokesman Maj.

The bodies of three helicopter crew members killed in a crash off San Clemente Island have been recovered, the Navy announced Saturday. Recovered were the remains of Lt. j.g. Laura Mankey, Lt. Adam Dyer and Petty Officer 1st Class Cory Helman. "These were our shipmates, our friends; we are proud to have served with them and to now have them home," said Capt. John Hardison, Commodore, Helicopter Sea Combat Wing Pacific. The MH-60S Knighthawk helicopter crashed Jan. 26 during routine training.

A Russian military helicopter crashed Friday during a combat mission against separatist guerrillas in the southern republic of Chechnya, killing at least 18 soldiers, authorities said. Initial reports said the craft was brought down by rebel fire, but officials later said it was more likely that mechanical failure was the cause. Three insurgents were reported killed in the battle, but others apparently escaped into nearby mountains.