Management decided to take a measured approach, selling off smaller defense units such as the Norden electronics business (bought by Westinghouse in 1994) while retaining the engine and helicopter businesses.
In September, a twin-engine, two-seat AH-1W Cobra helicopter went down during training in a remote area of Camp Pendleton, killing two Marine pilots and igniting a brush fire that burned about 120 acres at the base north of San Diego.
This aircraft, which has been called the most important aviation development since the invention of the jet engine, has the ability to take off and land like a helicopter yet fly horizontally at speeds far in excess of those possible for helicopters.