Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- At Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 169 headquarters, black saturates the walls and carpet, representing the night, the time "Vipers" strike their prey.

Like their slithery namesakes, squadron pilots also stalk prey -- gobbling up flight hours. They recently passed a coveted milestone -- 40,000 mishap-free flight hours, said 1stLt. David L. Yaggy, the unit's assistant S-5 officer.

Captains Russell W. Mantzel and William J. Bartolomea, HMLA-169 pilots, were flying an AH-1W Cobra when the squadron hit the 40,000- hour mark, Yaggy said.

"Surpassing the hours caught us by surprise," said LtCol. Patrick J. Gough, the unit's commanding officer.

"We were doing a tactical flight when we passed the mark. It was not like we planned to go out and pass the mark."
The squadron was planning to pass the milestone toward the end of April but was ahead of schedule.

"The squadron is flying a lot of hours," Gough said. "We have been ahead of the flight hours all year. We have been doing many fragmentary orders, the direct support of a unit. That has been keeping us flying."

The squadron has flown nearly eight years without a class-A or -B mishap and 18 months without a class-C mishap. This is equivalent to flying an aircraft for more than four years.

Accidents are considered class A when someone loses their life or damage amounts to $1 million or more. Class B is $200,000 to $1 million in damage, partial or permanent disability or the hospitalization of five or more personnel. Class C is $10,000 to $200,000 and/or injury resulting in five or more lost work days.

The squadron operates in demanding environments, providing combat assault helicopter support, attack helicopter fire support and coordination for aerial and ground forces during amphibious operations and subsequent operations ashore, Yaggy said.

"It is absolutely wonderful to work for such a professional team," Gough said. "The squadron shares the same legacy of excellence set years ago. We can't just sit back and relax -- now we have to push towards 50, 60 and 100,000 hours."