Three crew members were rescued after a helicopter assigned to the USS George H.W. Bush made an emergency water landing in the Arabian Sea early Wednesday. One crew member remained missing as U.S. Navy assets searched the area.
USS George H.W. Bush Crew
The MH-60S Sea Hawk had a four-person crew. Three of the helicopter's crew members were recovered and were in stable condition aboard George H. W. Bush, while the fourth aircrewman was still missing. The incident happened about 3:30 a.m. Eastern time, which would have been about 11 a.m. local time.
The helicopter was assigned to the USS George H.W. Bush, one of two aircraft carriers remaining in the region. The ship had been in the Middle East since late April, and the U.S. still had a sizable military presence there.
Naval Forces Central Command
U.S. Naval Forces Central Command said there was no indication the helicopter was shot down by hostile action. That leaves the water landing itself as the central fact for crews working the search, not an attack claim.
The search continued for the missing aircrewman, with U.S. Navy assets in the region involved. The same part of the Middle East has seen other military aviation losses tied to Operation Epic Fury, where the U.S. had lost 42 fixed-wing or rotor aircraft as of mid-May; an Apache helicopter shot down by an Iranian drone in early June led to self-defense strikes against Iran.
For the crew aboard George H. W. Bush, the immediate question is the missing sailor, not the aircraft. The rescue has already pulled three people out of the water, and the focus now stays on finding the fourth before the search narrows any further.
