--- title: "1 Sailor Killed, 1 Hurt After Sea Hawk Helo’s Fuel Tank Falls On Them" date: "2018-08-07" modified: "2018-08-07" authors: - name: "Jeff Schogol" job_title: "Senior Pentagon Reporter" link: "https://taskandpurpose.com/authors/jeff-schogol.md" url: "https://taskandpurpose.com/news/sailor-killed-by-helicopter-fuel-tank/" categories: - "News" --- # 1 Sailor Killed, 1 Hurt After Sea Hawk Helo’s Fuel Tank Falls On Them ![]() A sailor was killed and another was injured in a ground mishap July 30 at Naval Air Station North Island, California, a Navy official confirmed on Tuesday. - Naval Helicopter Aircrewman 1st Class Jonathan Richard Clement died after an HH-60H Sea Hawk’s auxiliary fuel tank fell on him while the helicopter was on the tarmac, said Cmdr. Ron Flanders, a spokesman for Naval Air Forces. A second sailor was treated and released for minor injuries. - Flanders told Task & Purpose that he did not have any further information about the circumstances surrounding Clement’s death. Investigators are looking into exactly how the fuel tank fell off the helicopter. - Clement joined the Navy in June 2007; he became a petty officer 1st class on Oct. 16, 2016; and he had served with Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron since July 2017, according to his Navy biography. His military awards include four Navy/Marine Corps Achievement Medals, the Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Meal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, and Pistol Marksmanship Ribbon (Sharpshooter). - [Military.com]() first reported on Tuesday that Clement had been killed in the July 30 accident and the Navy did not announce his death at the time. - Clement’s family was so distraught over his death that the Navy concluded it would be better to avoid publicizing the fatal accident, Flanders said. “A decision was made to spare the family any media attention so it was not released,” he said. **WATCH THIS:** optin-monster-shortcode id="sb7iqxdgwk1djrpulqyw"\] ## Author Jeff Schogol is the former senior Pentagon reporter for Task & Purpose. He reported on both the Department of Defense as a whole and individual services, covering a variety of topics that include personnel, policy, military justice, deployments, and technology. ### Author social links [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]() [Twitter]() ## More - [7 Marines and 1 sailor presumed dead as rescue efforts end 40 hours after amphibious assault vehicle sank]() - [Army identifies two special operations soldiers killed in helicopter crash]() - [Navy identifies 2 sailors killed in double-motorcycle crash near Camp Pendleton]() - [Naval aviators killed in Mount Rainier crash flew dozens of combat missions over Red Sea]() - [Navy identifies USS George Washington sailor lost at sea]() - [Japanese coast guard recovers body of Marine sergeant who drowned off Japan coast]() - [2 US military veterans killed in Ukraine during intense fighting \[Updated\]]() - [Coast Guard rescue swimmer dies in surfing accident]()