The U.S. Marine Corps on Friday identified the Marine killed in a helicopter training accident this week as 31-year-old Staff Sgt. Jonathan Lewis.
U.S. Marines confirmed Staff Sgt. Lewis was stationed in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia and was assigned to Fleet Anti-terrorism Security Team Company B Marine Corps Security Force Regiment of Yorktown, Virginia.
Staff Sgt. Lewis was a native of Warrington, Virginia.
“Out thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends, and we mourn this tragic loss of life,” said Lt. Col. Jeffrey Kenney during a Friday morning news conference.
Lt. Col. Kenney said Staff Sgt. Lewis was at Camp LeJeune as a student attending a helicopter ropes suspension technique course.
Staff Sgt. was killed Wednesday when a heavy-lift helicopter he was riding in made a hard landing during a nighttime training exercise at Camp LeJeune in North Carolina. Eleven other Marines were injured in the accident.
SEE ALSO: 1 Marine killed, 11 hurt in helicopter hard landing in North Carolina
The Marines said a hard landing generally describes “when an aircraft impacts the ground with a greater vertical speed and force than a normal landing, typically after a rapid or steep descent.”
The helicopter was assigned to Heavy Helicopter Squadron-464, Marine Aircraft Group-29, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing. The helicopter is the Marine Corps’ primary heavy lift helicopter. It has a top speed of 172 mph, The Associated Press reported.
• Kellan Howell can be reached at khowell@washingtontimes.com.
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