Photo: JOHN PHILIP WAGNER / AFP / Getty Images
A U.S. Navy airman is missing after an MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter crashed Wednesday (July 1) in the Arabian Sea during operations from the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush. Three other crew members were pulled from the water alive and are in stable condition aboard the carrier, according to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet.
The incident happened at about 11 a.m. local time—roughly 3:30 a.m. Eastern Time—when the helicopter conducted what officials called an emergency water landing. The Navy stated there is currently “no indication the emergency was caused by hostile action.” According to The War Zone, U.S. Navy assets are actively searching for the missing aircrew member, and the cause of the incident is under investigation.
The crash comes during ongoing tense negotiations between the United States and Iran to end the war in the region. It is the second incident involving a U.S. military helicopter in the area in recent weeks. In June, a U.S. Army AH-64 Apache crew was rescued from the Gulf of Oman after a crash, which President Donald Trump said was caused by Iranian forces.
The Arabian Sea is a busy and strategic body of water, with the U.S. 5th Fleet responsible for operations across nearly 2.5 million square miles, including the Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, Red Sea, and parts of the Indian Ocean. The Navy has recently highlighted other search and rescue efforts in the region, such as the June 14 rescue of 14 Indian mariners in the northern Arabian Sea by a U.S. Navy MH-60 Sea Hawk.
Navy officials have not released the name of the missing crew member and say updates will be provided as soon as more information is available. The cause of Wednesday’s crash remains under investigation.