THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 12, 1995 TAG: 9510120304
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JACK DORSEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Short : 50 lines
An East Coast search has been launched for the crew members of a pleasure boat who may have seen last week's crash of a Navy helicopter that killed four off Virginia Beach.
Officials believe those aboard the pleasure boat, identified as a motorized cabin cruiser, 20 to 30 feet long, can provide information that may shed light on the cause of the crash.
The helicopter, an H-46 Sea Knight based in Norfolk, was working from the decks of the amphibious assault ship Guam about 35 miles off Cape Henry between 8 and 9 p.m. Oct. 3 when the copter crew was sent to investigate a distress signal, possibly from the pleasure boat.
``Prior to the crash, the helicopter's crew reported to the Guam that the motor vessel had the identifying marks `Cape May' and that the individuals onboard the boat did not indicate any need for assistance,'' the Navy said. Cape May is a coastal resort in the southern portion of New Jersey.
The helicopter crashed shortly after that radio message, between 8:45 and 9 p.m. A search was begun at 9:10 p.m. when the copter crew failed to answer radio calls from the Guam.
The body of one of the four crewmen and some wreckage were found about an hour after the crash by a motor whaleboat from the Guam. Navy salvage teams from the salvage and rescue ship Edenton, based at Little Creek, recovered the bodies of the three remaining crew members Sunday.
The crash site, located by the Edenton, was 5 to 10 miles from the Guam and 2 to 3 miles from the pleasure boat. Salvagers estimated the wreckage was is in about 110 feet of water.
The Coast Guard has since issued a ``Notice to Mariners,'' asking for information, particularly from the pleasure boat that would have signaled the helicopter.
Anyone with information should contact the Coast Guard at 398-6272 in Portsmouth, or the Atlantic Fleet Naval Air Force public affairs office in Norfolk at 444-3373.
The three crew members whose bodies were recovered Sunday were Lt. Ronald J. Moybayed, 27, of Springfield; Lt. Robert W. Vogel, 29, of Newtown, Conn., and Avionics Technician 3rd Class Eric M. Hakel, 23, of Mechanicsburg, Pa. The body of Electronics Technician 2nd Class Daniel R. Biddle, 26, of Burgoon, Ohio, was recovered Oct. 3.
KEYWORDS: ACCIDENT PLANE by CNB