One dead, 3 missing in Seahawk crash - Navy News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Navy Times

One dead, 3 missing in Seahawk crash

SAN DIEGO, Calif. – A Navy MH-60S Seahawk helicopter crashed in the Pacific on Friday afternoon, and at least one of the four-member crew was found but later died, Navy officials said Friday evening.

As the sun set, Navy helicopter crews and search-and-rescue boats continued to scan the Pacific Ocean hoping to find the three other members of the helicopter crew belonging to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 23.

“We’re not giving up on them yet,” said Steve Fiebing, a spokesman for North Island Naval Air Station in Coronado, Calif., home to the helicopter squadron nicknamed the “Wild Cards.”

The helicopter was flying a “routine training mission” off the amphibious assault ship Bonhomme Richard near San Clemente Island when it crashed about 2:30 p.m., Fiebeing said.

Rescue teams recovered one sailor from the helicopter, but he died after he was brought to the Bonhomme Richard. Crews continued to search into the night as rigid-hulled inflatable boats and other helicopters from the guided-missile destroyer Chung-Hoon and guided-missile cruiser Chosin combed the area, said Cmdr. Jack Hanzlik, a Naval Air Forces spokesman. The Coast Guard also is assisting in the search.

The San Diego-based Bonhomme Richard went to sea earlier this week for the Expeditionary Strike Group integration exercises with ESG-5, Amphibious Squadron 7 and the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit from Camp Pendleton, Calif. The Bonhomme Richard strike group is scheduled to deploy overseas sometime this spring.

Hanzlik said at an evening press conference that the helicopter crew had issued a “mayday” call before the crash. He provided no other details.