WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – Mission capable rates for CH-53Es and other Marine aircraft have deteriorated sharply in recent years in part because of budget cuts, making it harder for flight mechanics to find the parts they need to keep planes and helicopters flying, according to the Marine Corps Times.
“A Marine three-star general pulled a Hawaii-based helicopter squadron from a spring deployment after two of its aircraft crashed off Oahu's coast in January, killing a dozen Marines,” the Marine Corps Times reported on Friday.
Lieutenant General John Toolan, the head of Marine Corps Forces Pacific, decided against dispatching CH-53E Super Stallions from Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 463 to Australia's Northern Territory as part of Marine Rotational Force–Darwin, the report noted.
The commanding officer of the helicopter squadron was fired three days before the January 14 crash after senior officials concluded he had failed to keep the unit operating at acceptable standards, the report noted.
