The U.S. Navy Sunday identified the five crew members who were killed when an MH-60S Knighthawk helicopter crashed into the sea off the coast of San Diego last week.
They are:
— Lt. Bradley A. Foster, 29, a pilot from Oakhurst, California;
— Lt. Paul R. Fridley, 28, a pilot from Annandale, Virginia;
— Naval Air Crewman 2nd Class James P. Buriak, 31, from Salem, Virginia;
— Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Sarah F. Burns, 31, from Severna Park, Maryland;
— Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Bailey J. Tucker, 21, from St. Louis, Missouri.
The U.S. 3rd Fleet on Saturday shifted from search and rescue operations to a recovery operation.
One sailor aboard the MH-60S Knighthawk was pulled from the ocean after the aircraft went down Tuesday, roughly 60 nautical miles from shore. The crash occurred as its six-member crew was engaging in routine flight operations off the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, which is homeported in San Diego.
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The rescued sailor and two others who were injured aboard the carrier were taken ashore for medical care and listed in stable condition. Another three personnel on the ship suffered minor injuries and remained aboard, officials said.
A military investigation is underway into what caused the crash of the aircraft, which was assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 8 at Naval Air Station North Island. Navy officials said only that it "was operating on deck before crashing into the sea."
