The Navy is giving up its search for three Coronado-based sailors in the Pacific Ocean. They went missing yesterday after their "Knighthawk" helicopter crashed off the coast of Camp Pendleton. A fourth passenger died. KPBS Radio's Andrew Phelps reports.
Search-and-rescue crews worked all through the night and into the next afternoon, but they had no luck. The Navy says it would be virtually impossible for the missing sailors to still be alive. The water is too cold and they have been drifting at sea for too long.
This decision came more than 24 hours after the helicopter went down. Two Navy pilots and two crewmen were flying a routine training mission. A pilot made a "mayday" call, but no one seems to know what happened next. One crewman was rescued but later pronounced dead. The other three are now assumed dead.
The Navy is investigating the cause of the crash. A spokesman says there were no indications of fire or mechanical failure onboard. For KPBS, I'm Andrew Phelps.
