A USMC Bell AH-1Z Viper, operated by HMLA-773 / MAG 49 / 4th MAW, sustained substantial damage after crashing in a field near McGuire Field (Joint Base McGuire Dix Lakehurst) Airport (WRI/KWRI), Wrightstown, New Jersey. The two occupants received unspecified injuries.
A Marine Corps AH-1Z “had a mishap” at about 3:30 p.m. EST. Two individuals on board were transported to nearby medical facilities and their condition was listed as stable on Thursday afternoon, according to a release from Marine Forces Reserve.
The incident is under investigation, according to the release. No names or further details of the incident were made immediately available.
A photograph posted on the local TV news website, nbcphiladelphia.com, taken by Jake Seidman, shows the aircraft folded into the grounds, rotary blades snapped on one side and nearly half of the body of the aircraft crumpled into a field near a tree line.
The incident is currently under investigation. Additional information will be released as it becomes available.
The AH-1Z Viper is made by Bell Helicopter and has been in service since 2010, having made its first test flight in 2000, according to the company.
The Viper design is based on the AH-1 Super Cobra helicopter, which was used by the Marines in one variant or another from the early 1970s through 2020, according to the Marine press release.
that looks bad