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HH-60H Seahawk Navy helicopter crash, San Diego coast: 3 Dead
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by Tina Kells | May 20, 2009 at 09:13 am
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A US Navy HH-60H Seahawk helicopter crashed near the Coronado Islands off the coast of San Diego in Southern California during a training mission on May 19, 2009. The bodies of three passengers have been recovered by US Navy rescue operations; two who were on board are still missing. Names of the victims are being held back until family can be notified.
Reporting from San Diego -- Rescue crews have recovered the bodies of three of the five people aboard a Navy helicopter that crashed about 25 miles off the Southern California coast, officials said today.
The HH-60 helicopter was on a training mission near the Coronado Islands for an unspecified upcoming deployment when it crashed at about 11:36 p.m. Tuesday.
The U.S. Coast Guard responded and officials are searching for the remaining two passengers.
Three Navy members were killed in the nighttime crash of an HH-60H Seahawk helicopter off the coast of San Diego, a Navy spokesman confirmed.
Coast Guard boats and aircraft scanned Pacific Ocean waters about 13 miles south of San Diego on Wednesday morning for the two remaining crew members , authorities said.
The helicopter crashed Tuesday just before midnight, said Lt. Sean Robertson, a Navy spokesman at the Pentagon. The helicopter, from Carrier Air Wing 11, was returning to the aircraft carrier Nimitz after a combat search and rescue exercise.
The crash occurred 76 nautical miles from Nimitz, which is at sea conducting a pre-deployment composite training unit exercise, Robertson said.
Background on the HH-60H Seahawk helicopter:
The Sikorsky SH-60/MH-60 Seahawk is a twin turboshaft engine, multi-mission United States Navy helicopter based on the airframe of the United States Army UH-60 Black Hawk and a member of the Sikorsky S-70 family. The most significant modification involved a hinged tail that folds to reduce space on ships.
The U.S. Navy uses the H-60 airframe under the model designations SH-60B, SH-60F, HH-60H, MH-60R, and MH-60S. Able to deploy aboard any air-capable frigate, destroyer, cruiser, fast combat support ship, amphibious assault ship, or aircraft carrier, the Seahawk can handle antisubmarine warfare (ASW), undersea warfare (USW), anti-surface warfare (ASUW), naval special warfare (NSW) insertion, search and rescue (SAR), combat search and rescue (CSAR), vertical replenishment (VERTREP), and medical evacuation (MEDEVAC). All Navy H-60s carry either the Lucas Western or Breeze Eastern rescue hoist for SAR/CSAR missions.
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (5)
at 08:38 on May 21st, 2009
I agree with Mr. Bishop's assessment of this article - horribly written and poorly researched. May seem like trivial errors to some are important distinctions for those of us that care - because we fly/flew for the Navy and lost friends and coworkers in this tragedy.
I realize it's only 5 sailors killed or missing, and therefore not especially sexy news to most agencies (it seems the death toll needs to be way higher for some news outlets to assign anyone more than a hack to write about it) - but these are real people that paid the ultimate price for your freedom. At least give them the respect of logging their sacrifice correctly. That is all.
at 14:31 on May 21st, 2009
This is such a tragedy My husband is on that boat and I am sure their days and nights now are revolving around the lost souls till they are all recovered and what about those families who this tragedy just happened to? I feel for the families because I could be the recipient of that news and not to mention if those sailors are expecting parents like myself I would feel horrible but my prayers are with those families who are going through the tragedy....
K
at 00:04 on May 22nd, 2009
Not only can she write to disprespectfully but were sailors not soldiers and it's a seahawk not jayhawk. You should find a new profession, because journalism isn't for you. I knew 4 out the 5 on the crew and they all died rest their souls and you couldn't even get the info right and all you had to do was google it.
at 09:44 on May 24th, 2009
Our deepest condolences to the families of this tragedy. Our son Lt. Adam Dyer, USN was killed in a Navy Seahawk Helicopter January 2007 from North Island (Coronado, CA). After the investigation the Navy reported the cause of the accident was inconclusive! The Navy knows why these helicopters keep going down in training not combat. How many of our loved ones have to die before the Navy grounds these helicopters? It's all about money! If any family member from the May 19, 2009 accident in San Diego, the May 7, 2007 accident in Nevada, or any other family who lost a loved one in a Navy helicopter wants to contact us please visit www.adamdyer.com . No one should go through this alone.
at 04:02 on May 27th, 2009
The Navy does not know why crashes happen all the time. I can understand the pain people can have. I have lost two close friends to crashes including one in the Nimitz crash. Accidents happen not only in combat but also in training. We have to wait until all the information is available before blaming anyone.