Calif. Nat'l Guard Helicopters Grounded

California National Guard Tech Sgt. Mullen (first name withheld) hangs a map showing the route of a National Guard helicopter that crashed Tuesday along the U.S.-Mexico border, Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2007, during a news conference in National City, Calif. Four National Guardsmen and five U.S. Border Patrol agents were injured in the crash. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy) (Denis Poroy - AP)

NATIONAL CITY, Calif. -- California National Guard helicopters deployed to help monitor the U.S.-Mexico border were grounded Wednesday following a crash that injured nine people in mountains east of San Diego.

Two National Guard soldiers and three Border Patrol agents remained hospitalized with neck and back injuries suffered in Tuesday's crash, said Col. Kevin Ellsworth, commander of the joint mission along the California border. In all there were five agents and four Guard members aboard.

Officials grounded the six remaining helicopters on border duty, including one UH-1 Huey and five OH-58 observation craft.

Officials would not comment on the cause of the crash of the 1973 Huey transport helicopter, which went down about 20 miles southeast of downtown San Diego while transporting the Border Patrol team to inaccessible areas for operations against human smugglers.

Col. Mitchell Medigovich, an aviation expert who is leading the California National Guard's investigation, said the helicopter was one of six Vietnam-era Hueys still flown by the state Guard.

"We don't want to speculate that the cause of the accident was anything to do with the age of these helicopters," Medigovich said, noting that the helicopter had undergone regular maintenance.

The Guard's four other Hueys elsewhere in the state were not grounded.

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Associated Press writer Elliot Spagat in San Diego contributed to this report.