WHO KILLED LT. VAN DORN?
by Zachary Stauffer
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Friday, December 7th, 2018: 7:05 PM
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Lt. Wes Van Dorn, a 29 year old United States Naval Academy
graduate and the married father of two young sons, died when the helicopter he was piloting
crashed off the coast of Virginia during a 2014 training exercise. Motivated by her grief, his wife
Nicole 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. Through incisive reporting and interviews with Van Dorn’s colleagues and family,
Who Killed Lt. Van Dorn? is at once a poignant picture of one family's tragedy, as well as a
revelatory inquiry into the murky innerworkings of the American defense establishment.
Lt. Wes Van Dorn, a 29 year old United States Naval Academy
graduate and the married father of two young sons, died when the helicopter he was piloting
crashed off the coast of Virginia during a 2014 training exercise. Motivated by her grief, his wife
Nicole 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. Through incisive reporting and interviews with Van Dorn’s colleagues and family,
Who Killed Lt. Van Dorn? is at once a poignant picture of one family's tragedy, as well as a
revelatory inquiry into the murky innerworkings of the American defense establishment.
graduate and the married father of two young sons, died when the helicopter he was piloting
crashed off the coast of Virginia during a 2014 training exercise. Motivated by her grief, his wife
Nicole 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. Through incisive reporting and interviews with Van Dorn’s colleagues and family,
Who Killed Lt. Van Dorn? is at once a poignant picture of one family's tragedy, as well as a
revelatory inquiry into the murky innerworkings of the American defense establishment.