U.S. Navy Helicopter Goes Down in the Red Sea, Search Suspended for Missing Crew

Update: As of 3PM Bahrain local time, the search for the two missing crew members has been suspended.

The U.S. Navy notes in a statement, “Navy officials have concluded that given the time elapsed since the incident, aircrew survivability was extremely unlikely. The location of the crash site is known, and an extensive area has been searched multiple times by various ships and aircraft.”

Earlier:

Two crew aboard an MH-60S Knighthawk are still missing today after their helicopter crashed in the Red Sea on Sunday.

Three crewmen have been recovered and are in stable condition according to a statement by the U.S. Navy.

According to reports, the helicopter was conducting flight operations from the guided missile destroyer USS William P. Lawrence (DDG 100) when the incident occurred.

HSC-6 is assigned to Carrier Air Wing Eleven operating aboard the USS Nimitz (CVN 68) aircraft carrier.

Search efforts continue for two remaining personnel with assets from USS Nimitz, USS William P. Lawrence, USS Princeton (CG 59), USS Shoup (DDG 86), USS Stockdale (DDG 106), USNS Rainier (T-AOE 7) as well as MH-60S Knighthawks from HSC-6, and MH-60R Seahawks from Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 75 and one P-3 from Patrol Squadron (VP) 47.

The U.S. Navy notes “the crash was not due to any sort of hostile activity.”