No hostile activity indicated, military says, as cause under investigation
The U.S. Navy is searching the Arabian Sea for an aircrewman who went missing after an MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter carrying four personnel made an emergency landing at 3:30 a.m. EDT Wednesday, the military said. Three crew members were recovered and were listed in stable condition, while the fourth member remained missing, according to U.S. Naval Forces Central Command.
“The cause of the incident is under investigation,” the command said in a statement. Officials said there was no indication that hostile activity prompted the emergency landing.
U.S. Navy assets in the region are conducting the search, the command said. Little information about the incident has been made public.
The helicopter was assigned to the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush, which departed Norfolk, Va., on March 31, according to U.S. Fleet Forces Command. The carrier has been operating in the Arabian Sea since at least May 3, U.S. Central Command said, and was deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations to support maritime security and stability in the Middle East.
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