Originally published on January 9, 2014
Two sailors were killed and three were injured when a U.S. Navy helicopter went down in waters off the coast of Virginia on Wednesday morning (January 8).
The MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopter was carrying five crew when a distress signal was sent at around 10:45 a.m. The aircraft lost altitude soon after and crashed in waters about 18 nautical miles (21 miles) east of Cape Henry, according to The Washington Post. A second Sea Dragon operating in the same area provided immediate support, while the 87-foot Coast Guard Cutter Shearwater that happened to be in the area also provided assistance, according to USA Today.
USA Today reported that two Navy helicopters assigned to the same 600 to 700-sailor squadron quickly arrived at the scene and spotted four of the sailors near debris in the water at around 11:15 a.m. A Navy captain said the sailors were then lifted in rafts in two rounds, with the first pair retrieved roughly 10 minutes after the rescuers arrived, and the other two lifted from the water at around 11:38 a.m. One sailor was killed, while three injured sailors were rushed to hospital. The body of the fifth sailor was found later but there is still no indication of what caused the helicopter to go down.
The air temperature at the time of the accident was 28 degrees and the water temperature was 41 degrees, with 1- to 2-foot seas, according to USA Today.
USA Today reports, "the Sea Dragon, built by Sikorsky, is a modified version of the more common CH-53E Super Stallion and can operate from aircraft carriers or other warships. Primarily used to clear mines from shipping lanes, it also delivers heavy equipment to and from ships and can transport up to 55 combat troops.
"At 99 feet long, the Sea Dragon is the largest helicopter in the Western world."
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