--- title: "Navy halts search for sailor missing in the Arabian Sea" description: "The sailor was one of four crew members on a MH-60S Seahawk helicopter from the USS George H.W. Bush that crashed on Wednesday." date: "2026-07-05" modified: "2026-07-05" authors: - name: "Nicholas Slayton" job_title: "Contributing Editor" link: "https://taskandpurpose.com/authors/nicholas-slayton/" url: "https://taskandpurpose.com/news/navy-suspends-search-arabian-sea/" categories: - "Around the World" - "Middle East" - "Military Branches" - "Navy" - "News" --- # Navy halts search for sailor missing in the Arabian Sea ![Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) sails while an MH-60S Sea Hawk, attached to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 5, flies alongside Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77), June 18, 2026. USS George H.W. Bush is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations to support maritime security and stability in the Middle East. (U.S. Navy photo) ]() *A MH-60S Seahawk from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 5 flies by the USS Donald Cook in the Middle East on June 18, 2025. Navy photo.* The Navy suspended its search for a sailor who [went missing]() after their helicopter went down in the Arabian Sea at the start of the month. The Navy's 5th Fleet said in a post Sunday afternoon that several ships and Air Force aircraft spent more than four days looking for the sailor, who was assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 5. The sailor was one of four onboard a Navy MH-60S Seahawk helicopter, which crashed into the water on July 1. Three crew members onboard the helicopter were recovered shortly after the crash and reported in stable condition on Wednesday. The helicopter is assigned to the USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier, which is deployed to the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. The missing sailor has not been identified; per Navy policy their name is being withheld until at least 24 hours after the next of kin is notified. The MH-60S "conducted an emergency landing" around 3:30 a.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday. The Navy said at the time that there was no indication that the crash was due to "hostile action." The cause of the mishap is under investigation. “For more than 102 hours, an extensive and coordinated search and rescue effort spanning over 14,000 square miles was conducted,” the 5th Fleet [said](). Five destroyers, a pair of P-8 Poseidon squadrons and fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters from the USS George H.W. Bush and the USS Abraham Lincoln took part in the search operations. The helicopter was the latest in several aircraft mishaps in the last two months, following three incidents inside the United States. The MH-60S helicopters of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 5, part of Carrier Air Wing 7, regularly conduct a variety of mission ranging from troop transport, search and rescue and combat operations. ## Author Nicholas Slayton is a contributing editor for Task & Purpose, covering conflict for over 12 years, from the Arab Spring to the war in Ukraine. His previous reporting can be found on the non-profit Aslan Media, The Atlantic, Al Jazeera, The New Republic, The American Prospect, Architectural Digest, The Daily Beast, and the Los Angeles Downtown News. You can reach him at nicholas@taskandpurpose.com or find him on Twitter @NSlayton and Bluesky at @nslayton.bsky.social. ### Author social links [Twitter]()