The coast guard investigates the scene of a downed Marine Corps' CH-53D Sea Stallion helicopter on March 30, 2011 in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Honoulu Star-Advertiser, Dennis Oda)
A helicopter crash off Hawaii killed one Marine and injured three others Tuesday evening, including a Long Island native.
The Marine Corps identified the Marine who died as Cpl. Jonathan D. Faircloth, 22, of Mechanicsburg, Pa., an aerial observer who served in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, the military said Thursday.
Cpl. Ronnie E. Brandafino of Farmingville was critically injured when their CH-53D Sea Stallion helicopter crashed in Kaneohe Bay two miles from Marine Corps Base Hawaii.
He was in stable condition Thursday at The Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu along with a fourth crew member.
The Marine Corps said the other two injured Marines include the pilot Maj. Clinton J. Collins and co-pilot Capt. Kevin F. Hayles. Brandafino is a crew chief.
Deputy Base Commanding Officer Lt. Col. Michael Antonio told reporters Wednesday the Marines had ankle injuries and probably some spinal injuries as a result of the “hard impact” landing.
The 40-year-old helicopter is one of three squadrons of Sea Stallion aircraft stationed at Kaneohe Bay. Antonio said the helicopters have been workhorses in Iraq and Afghanistan. The crashed chopper’s unit returned in October from a “very successful” deployment to Afghanistan, Antonio said.
Faircloth is survived by his wife, two siblings and parents. The military says he joined the Marines in 2006, deployed to Iraq two years later and to Afghanistan last year.
The Marine Corps said his parents, Dean and Beverly Faircloth, described their son as “a true gentleman and a happy person who loved the Marine Corps and his job.”
The crash remains under investigation.
With Associated Press.
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