US Copter crashes - crew missing

angelburst29

The Living Force
In reading this article, maybe it's the way it's worded, I get the impression - the five Navy crews members were abducted (in mid-air) causing the helicopter to crash into the sea? It mentions that the USS Nimitz is helping in search and rescue, then diverts attention by listing all the US sea power deployed in the regional waters of the Mediterranean Sea near Syria.

http://rinf.com/alt-news/breaking-news/us-copter-crashes-crew-missing/72050/

A US Navy helicopter has crashed into the Red Sea, the military said in a statement. It added that the fate of five crew members œis still being determined.”

The MH-60S Knighthawk was flying with the guided missile destroyer USS William P. Lawrence, part of a carrier group dispatched to the region to threaten Syria.

The statement issued by the US Central Command, which oversees operations in the Middle East and the Horn of Africa, said œThe crash was not due to any hostile activity,” adding that œThe incident is under investigation.”

The USS Nimitz Carrier Strike Group is providing aircraft and small boats for search and rescue operations.

The Nimitz and its escorts recently finished a deployment in the Persian Gulf and were diverted to the Red Sea as US vessels deploy off Syria in preparation for a possible intervention in Syria.


The US has blamed Syrian government forces for a chemical attack that took place near the capital Damascus on August 21. The Syrian government rejects the charge.

Washington has beefed up its military presence after it threatened to take a military action over the use of chemical weapons allegation.

The US Navy has five Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers off the coast of Syria. They include: The USS Ramage, USS Mahan, USS Gravely, USS Barry and the USS Stout. Each of these destroyers is armed with dozens of Tomahawk cruise missiles.

Other ships that Washington deployed near the Syrian coast are: the cruiser USS Princeton and the destroyers USS William P. Lawrence, USS Stockdale and USS Shoup. It has also deployed the USS San Antonio, an amphibious transport ship, to the Eastern Mediterranean. The USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier and strike group is also in the regional waters.

Despite Syria™s endorsement of a US-Russia deal to destroy its chemical weapons, which has temporarily eased the possibility of a US military intervention against the Arab country, Washington has been saying that threat of force is still real against Syria.
 
angelburst29 said:
A US Navy helicopter has crashed into the Red Sea, the military said in a statement. It added that the fate of five crew members "is still being determined." [quotemarks fixed]

That locution regarding the crew was used to spare the feelings of the missing crew members' families, as opposed to simply reporting callously, for example, that the military hasn't recovered the bodies yet.

Nothing that was reported suggested that the chopper crew disappeared before the helicopter crashed.
 
angelburst29 said:
In reading this article, maybe it's the way it's worded, I get the impression - the five Navy crews members were abducted (in mid-air) causing the helicopter to crash into the sea?

Like Griffin said, that's one of the variations of standard wording until they find all the bodies or any survivors. Nothing mysterious about it.
 
Griffin and Laura, I appreciate the clarafication and Thank You.

News update on the missing crew:

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/09/22/20639120-three-rescued-from-navy-helicopter-crash-in-red-sea-two-still-missing?lite

Three crew members were safely rescued, but two are still missing after a U.S. Navy helicopter crashed in the Red Sea on Sunday during routine flight operations, military officials said.

The MH-60S Knighthawk helicopter, assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 6 — nicknamed the HSC Indians — went down in the Central Red Sea at about noon local time, according to an official with the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet.

Three who went down with the helicopter were found in “stable” condition, according to the official.

The USS Nimitz is leading the search and rescue mission for the two remaining crew members who were aboard the helicopter with the aid of planes, helicopters and five additional ships, officials said.

The crash was not a result of any hostile activity but the incident is under investigation, Navy officials added.

The Knighthawk had been trying to either land or takeoff from the rear helicopter deck of the USS William P. Lawrence, a guided-missile destroyer, at the time of the crash, officials said.

The USS Nimitz deployed to the Red Sea on Sept. 2 in anticipation of a possible U.S. strike on Syria.


September 23, 2013
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/09/23/navy-helicopter-crashes-in-red-sea-5-onboard/

The U.S. Navy has called off a search for two missing crew members who were involved in a helicopter crash in the Red Sea on Sunday, saying it is unlikely that they survived.

The MH-60S Knighthawk helicopter was flying with the USS William P. Lawrence as part of a carrier group dispatched to the region amid Syria’s ongoing unrest, according to the AFP.

The Navy revealed Monday that the helicopter crashed in the Red Sea after trying to land on the deck of the ship.

“Navy officials have concluded that given the time elapsed since the incident, aircrew survivability was extremely unlikely,” the Navy said in a statement on its website. “The location of the crash site is known, and an extensive area has been searched multiple times by various ships and aircraft.”

Three members onboard the helicopter were rescued on Sunday. The names of the missing service members are being held pending the notification of the next of kin, the Navy said.

Officials are conducting an investigation into the crash, but ruled out “hostile activity” as a cause.

Aircraft and small boats from the USS Nimitz Carrier Strike Group had been providing search-and-rescue assistance.
 
Strangely there have been two military jet crashes this month in Oman.

Highly unusual.


From Gulf News :-


Oman military pilot killed in training crash
Second death of a pilot during training this month
Staff ReportPublished: 16:49 September 23, 2013

Muscat: A military pilot died in an accident during training in southern Oman on Sunday evening, according to sources at the Defence Ministry.
The ministry sources said that the mid-air accident caused the death of military pilot Lieutenant Abdul Malek Bin Yaqoub Bin Abdullah Al Afifi.
The defence sources did not divulge any further details, including the make of the aircraft.
The ministry, in a statement to Oman News Agency “mourned the late Lieutenant Al Afifi and prayed to Allah the Almighty to bestow His mercy on the deceased and to inspire his family with patience and solace and to Him we return”.

On September 11, a Royal Air Force of Oman pilot was killed in an accident involving two Jaguar planes during a routine training mission in Rakhyut, about 1,110-kms south of Muscat.


Link
Gulf News - http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/oman/oman-military-pilot-killed-in-training-crash-1.1234561



http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/09/23/oman-airman-dies-in-second-training-accident-in-weeks/
 
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