Community Corner

Navy Suspends Search for 2 Crew Members in Helicopter Crash

Searchers combed the area in boats and aircraft to no avail.

A Navy search of the Red Sea for two helicopter crew members aboard a Coronado-based MH-60S Knighthawk that crashed Sunday was suspended Monday.

Navy officials said they concluded "aircrew survivability was extremely unlikely," given the time that had passed since the accident off the west coast of Saudi Arabia.

The chopper, assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 6 at Naval Air Station North Island, crashed while the pilot trying to land on deck of the San Diego-based guided-missile destroyer USS William P. Lawrence, officials said. Both deployed with the USS Nimitz Carrier Strike Group in January.

Find out what's happening in Coronadowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The crash was not related to "any sort of hostile activity," Navy officials said.

Three of the helicopter's five crew members were "accounted for and stable" following the crash, according to the Navy. Searchers combed the area in boats and aircraft to no avail.

Find out what's happening in Coronadowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The Nimitz and the William P. Lawrence, along with USS Princeton, USS Shoup, USS Stockdale and USNS Rainier were involved in the search efforts, as were Navy and U.S. Air Force aircraft, according to the Navy

The USS Nimitz Carrier Strike Group was providing aircraft and small boats for search and rescue assistance, according to the Navy.

—City News Service


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here