US Navy searches for missing crew member after MH-60S Sea Hawk makes emergency landing in Arabian Sea | Today’s news
Hours after an MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter assigned to the USS George HW Bush (CVN 77) made an emergency landing in the Arabian Sea, the US Navy said it was searching for a missing crew member. The military issued a statement on Wednesday (local time) confirming the incident.
In a post on X, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, also called the U.S. 5th Fleet, said: “On July 1 at 3:30 a.m. ET, the crew of an MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter assigned to USS George HW Bush (CVN 77) made an emergency water landing in the Arabian Sea.”
The command added: “There is no indication that the alert was caused by enemy action.”
According to the statement, the helicopter had four crew members. Three sustained injuries and were rescued while one remains missing.
Naval Forces Central Command added: “Three of the helicopter’s four crew members were rescued and are in stable condition aboard the George HW Bush. US navies in the region are currently searching for another missing crew member. The cause of the incident is under investigation.”
Role of the USS George W. Bush in the Middle East
According to a Hindustan Times report, the USS George HW Bush has been a key part of the Navy’s deployment to the Middle East amid the conflict with Iran that began in late February. It has been in the region since April as one of two aircraft carriers.
According to the Middle East Institute, the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet is based at Naval Support Activity Bahrain and serves as the main US naval command in the Middle East region. The Fifth Fleet operates in the Persian Gulf, Arabian Sea and parts of the Indian Ocean.
The fleet oversees operations around several strategically important waterways, including the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb, both of which are considered key flashpoints for regional tensions.
Previous helicopter crash incidents in the Middle East
This is not the first time a US military helicopter has crashed in the region. Last month, US President Donald Trump confirmed that a US Army AH-64 Apache attack helicopter had also crashed near the Strait of Hormuz.
In a Truth Social post, he wrote: “I have just been informed by our large military that last night the Iranians shot down one of our highly sophisticated Apache helicopters while patrolling the Strait of Hormuz.”
After the helicopter crashed, the US Navy launched a maritime search and rescue mission using a drone boat to locate and retrieve the pilots, who spent up to two hours in the water near the crash site.
After the crash, Trump confirmed that the two pilots aboard the Apache helicopter were OK. A New York Times report said that at the time, the cause of the crash was not immediately clear, whether the helicopter was shot down by Iranian fire, suffered mechanical failure or encountered some other problem.
In early April, U.S. forces also conducted another high-risk rescue mission, rescuing two pilots who ejected from their F-15E Strike Eagle after the fighter was downed by Iranian fire.
