Lt. Wes Van Dorn, a 29-year-old US Naval Academy graduate and married father of two young boys, died when the helicopter he was piloting crashed off the coast of Virginia during a training exercise. Motivated by her grief, his wife sought an explanation for the cause of the disaster. Her efforts spurred an investigation that uncovered a long history of negligence and institutional failings around the 53E helicopter—the model Van Dorn was piloting when he was killed, and the deadliest aircraft in the US military.

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