The search for five missing crew members of a Navy helicopter that crashed into the sea on Monday, Aug. 31 has shifted to recovery efforts, Navy officials said Saturday, Sept. 4.
The announcement follows an exhaustive 72-hour effort that included 34 search and rescue flights and over 170 hours of flight time with five helicopters, along with constant surface vessel trolling.
The identities of the missing sailors will not be revealed until 24 hours after their families are notified.
“We have transitioned from rescue efforts to recovery operations,” said Navy Lt. Sam Boyle. “We’ll make every possible effort to locate the helicopter wreckage.”
The crash of the MH-60S helicopter with six people aboard occurred when the helicopter became unstable on the deck of the San Diego-based USS Abraham Lincoln and went overboard into the ocean around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Several hours later, around 10 p.m., one sailor was recovered and on Wednesday was in stable condition at a San Diego hospital, officials from the Navy’s Third Fleet said in a statement.
Five sailors aboard the aircraft were also injured in the crash on the ship’s deck. Two of the sailors were taken to facilities in San Diego, three others were treated aboard the ship.
The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier was about 60 miles off the San Diego coast at the time of the crash.
An investigation continues into what caused the helicopter to crash, officials with the Navy’s Third Fleet said.
The MH-60S is a versatile aircraft that typically carries a crew of four and is used in missions including combat support, humanitarian disaster relief and search and rescue.
The helicopter and crew are attached to the Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 8 based at Naval Air Station North Island. The aircraft carrier is also based in San Diego. The Abraham Lincoln was preparing for an upcoming deployment next year.
The crash comes just 13 months after a training accident off the Southern California coast involving the Navy and Marines.
Eight Marines and their Navy corpsman died in that accident when an amphibious assault vehicle sank 400 feet to the bottom of the ocean a mile off San Clemente Island.
Also last year, on Aug. 29, a San Bernardino soldier was one of two Army soldiers killed when their Black Hawk went down on San Clemente Island.
And, last week, a Navy corpsman was among the 13 American service members killed in a bombing attack of the Kabul airport during the final days of evacuations out of Afghanistan.
Units involved in the ongoing effort to find the MH-60S helicopter and crew have included those from Coast Guard District 11, USS Abraham Lincoln, USS Cincinnati and helicopter squadrons from the U.S. Pacific Fleet Helicopter Sea Combat Wing and Helicopter Maritime Strike Wing.
Source: Orange County Register
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