Three crew members are "accounted for and stable" after their U.S. Navy MH-60S Knighthawk helicopter crashed into the Red Sea today. Search efforts continue for the two remaining crew members. The aircraft is assigned to the Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 6, based at Naval Air Station North Island, according to a Navy news release.
USS Nimitz Carrier Strike Group is providing aircraft and small boats for search and rescue assistance.
Hostile activity isn't suspected as the cause of the crash. The Navy has started an investigation into why the helicopter went down.
The helicopter was operating with the guided-missile destroyer USS William P. Lawrence, which is also based in San Diego, and is part of the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group.
According to the Los Angeles Times:
The Nimitz was sent into the Red Sea as tensions increased between the U.S. and Syria over the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian civil war.
