We ask again for your prayers for our service men and women.
Less than a day after reporting on a U.S. Air Force HH-60 helicopter crash in the United Kingdom, we regret to have to report of yet another helicopter crash.
This one involves a U.S. Navy MH-53 Sea Dragon helicopter that has crashed while on a training mission off the coast of Virginia Wednesday. The Navy said in a statement that an MH-53E helicopter had gone into the waters off Virginia Beach near Fort Story.
Four of the five crew members were pulled from the ocean after the crash, but one died at the Sentara Norfolk General Hospital. The identity of the dead crewman will not be released until 24 hours after his family has been notified.
The extent of their injuries and the identities of the other crewmen were not known, the Navy said. The accident is under investigation while a search and rescue operation is underway for a fifth crew member who is still missing.
Navy spokesman, Commander Mike Kafka told the local newspaper, The Virginia Pilot, that two MH-53 Sea Dragons were flying on a training mission when one of them had to make an emergency landing. The second Sea Dragon dropped a raft into the water to help the crew members while the Coast Guard cutter Shearwater and two MH-60S helicopters are also assisting in the recovery.
