The U.S. Navy announced Sunday that an expansive search for a missing sailor had been suspended following a helicopter’s emergency landing last week in the Arabian Sea.
The Navy crew member, whose name is being withheld until at least 24 hours after next-of-kin notification is complete, was one of four crew members aboard an MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter July 1 and assigned to the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush. The aircraft made an emergency water landing in the Arabian Sea at about 3:30 a.m. EST, according to U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/U.S. 5th Fleet.
Three crew members were recovered and were last described as being in stable condition aboard the carrier, though the extent of any sustained injuries has not been disclosed.
An extensive search-and-rescue mission for the missing crew member was led by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, lasting for more than 102 hours and spanning more than 14,000 square miles. It was called off at 3 p.m. AST on Sunday, July 5.
Efforts, according to the Navy, brought together the USS George H.W. Bush carrier’s HSC 5 and Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 46, the fixed wing aircraft of Carrier Air Wings (CVW) 7 and 9, aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln’s (CVN 72) helicopter squadrons HSC 14 and HSM 71, Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Ross (DDG 71), USS Donald Cook (DDG 75), USS Higgins (DDG 76), USS Mason (DDG 87), and USS John Finn (DDG 113) with HSM 51, two P-8 Poseidon squadrons, and multiple U.S. Air Force aircraft.
The Navy previously stated there was no indication that hostile action caused the emergency. The cause of the incident remains under investigation.
The MH-60S in question was assigned to the Norfolk, Va.-based carrier George H.W. Bush that deployed March 31 with Carrier Air Wing 7. The carrier entered the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility in April after sailing around Southern Africa and into the Indian Ocean, according to USNI News.
The Sea Hawk is typically used for missions including anti-surface warfare, combat support, humanitarian disaster relief, combat search and rescue, aeromedical evacuation, special warfare support and airborne mine countermeasures.
Carrier Air Wing 7 includes the “Nightdippers” of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 5, an MH-60S squadron based at Naval Air Station Norfolk, Va. The Navy’s initial statement did not publicly identify the specific squadron tied to Wednesday’s emergency landing.
Read the full article here