Navy suspends search for three Navy helicopter crew members

By: YVETTE URREA - Staff Writer | Saturday, January 27, 2007 10:52 PM PST ∞

CAMP PENDLETON ---- A search was suspended Saturday afternoon for three sailors aboard an MH-60S Seahawk helicopter that crashed into the ocean, a Navy official said.

A fourth sailor was quickly found after the crash at 2:30 p.m. Friday by another Seahawk helicopter flying nearby, but that man later died at a hospital aboard the USS Bonhomme Richard despite aggressive resuscitation efforts, Navy Cmdr. Jack Hanzlik said.

The names of all four air crew members were expected to be released today.

The search was suspended about 3 p.m. Saturday after extensive efforts failed to locate the three in the waters 50 miles off Camp Pendleton, Hanzlik said. He noted that the ocean water temperature was 59 degrees.

"The cold water temperature and the time that elapsed since the crash occurred led Navy officials to conclude that air crew survivability is extremely unlikely," he said in a written news statement.

More details emerged about the helicopter crash Saturday, as Hanzlik said that people onboard the USS Bonhomme Richard witnessed the crash. The pilot was able to get a mayday radio call out saying they were going in the water, but did not give specific indication of a problem and no fire was seen or mentioned.

"When it impacted the water, it sank really quickly," he said.

The helicopter wreckage is in deep water, 3,600 feet below the surface, Hanzlik said. While it was still hoped that the sailors had jumped out, as they are trained to do in an emergency, he said, searchers will utilize deep submergence equipment to check the wreckage for bodies.

The chopper was attached to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 23 and was doing routine training in support of Expeditionary Strike Group 5, Amphibious Squadron 7 and the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit at the time of the crash. The squadron was newly commissioned last fall.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation, Hanzlik said.

Earlier Saturday, a Navy plane assisted five Navy vessels in the search for the helicopter crew that was on a search-and-rescue training exercise with the USS Bonhomme Richard near San Clemente Island.

Even Saturday morning before the search was suspended, Hanzlik said it was becoming difficult to remain optimistic "given the temperature of the water, it's certainly of grave concern to us."

Although the crew members were outfitted with flotation vests equipped with survival gear such as a communications radio, a flashlight, a whistle and a flare, he said, "It would be difficult to survive, if fully in the water."

Hanzlik said the P-3 Orion Navy plane searched overnight along with the five Navy vessels and inflatable boats in the area. In the morning, it was relieved by another P-3 Orion plane and additional Navy helicopters launched from the vessels, he said.

Contact staff writer Yvette Urrea at (760) 901-4076 or yurrea@nctimes.com.