The Navy is currently searching for a missing crew member from the USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier after an MH-60S Seahawk helicopter from the ship crashed in the Arabian Sea, service officials have announced.
The helicopter from the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush “conducted an emergency water landing” about 3:30 a.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, according to the officials with the Navy’s 5th Fleet, which overseas the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and parts of the Indian Ocean.
Three other crew members from the aircraft have been recovered and are currently in stable condition, 5th Fleet officials said in a Wednesday social media post.
“There is no indication the emergency was caused by hostile action,” the post said, but no additional information on the mishap was immediately available. The incident is under investigation.
The Navy did not specify what unit the MH-60S belonged to, but the George H.W. Bush sails with Carrier Air Wing 7, which includes Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 5, and MH-60S unit known as the Night Dippers. Carrier Air Wing 7 includes two squadrons that fly variants of H-60 helicopters, the MH-60S and MH-60R, which crews universally refer to as Sierras and Romeos. MH-60Rs are primarily tasked and outfitted for anti-submarine warfare, while the MH-60S squadrons focus on traditional helicopter missions, like search and rescue, personnel and cargo transport, and amphibious missions with Marines and Naval Special Warfare units.
The mishap marks the latest in a string of recent U.S. military aircraft crashes. Eight crew members were killed in June when a B-52 Stratofortress crashed shortly after takeoff from Edwards Air Force Base, California. Earlier that month, the pilot of a Marine Corps F/A-18 Hornet safely ejected before the plane crashed near Mount Rainier, Washington. Four crew members also survived ejecting in May after two Navy E/A-18G Growlers collided over an Idaho airshow.
This is a breaking news story. It will be updated as more information becomes available.
