U.S. Navy MH-60S Seahawk Goes Down In Arabian Sea (Updated)

A search is underway for a missing aircrewmember after a U.S. Navy MH-60S Seahawk helicopter assigned to the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) “conducted an emergency water landing in the Arabian Sea,” the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet stated in a post on X. “There is no indication the emergency was caused by hostile action.”

“Three of the helicopter’s four crew members have been recovered and are in stable condition aboard George H. W. Bush,” 5th Fleet added. “U.S. Navy assets in the region are currently searching for other aircrewmen still missing. The cause of the incident is under investigation.”

The incident took place at 3:30 a.m. EDT, 5th Fleet stated.

The mishap occurred amid tense ongoing negotiations between the U.S. and Iran to end the war. This marks the second time in the past few weeks that a U.S. military helicopter aircrew had to be rescued after a crash in the region.

The crew of a U.S. Army AH-64 Apache were rescued from the Gulf of Oman overnight June 9 by a Corsair drone boat. President Donald Trump said Iranian forces downed the attack helicopter.

This is a developing story.

UPDATE: 7:38 AM July 2 –

The search for the missing crewmember of the MH-60S Seahawk remains ongoing, a U.S. Navy official told TWZ.

UPDATE: 6:57 AM July 3 –

The search and operation mission for the missing crewmember of the MH-60S is still underway, a Navy official told TWZ.

UPDATE: 6:06 PM July 5 –

The Navy suspended the search effort for the missing crewmember.

“The Sailor was reported missing July 1st, after an MH-60S helicopter went down in the Arabian Sea,” 5th Fleet stated on X. “The efforts concluded following an extensive search by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. The Sailor’s name is being withheld until at least 24 hours after next-of-kin notification is complete in accordance with Navy policy.”

“For more than 102 hours, an extensive and coordinated search and rescue effort spanning over 14,000 square miles was conducted,” 5th Fleet added. “The efforts brought together the USS George H.W. Bush carrier’s HSC 5 and Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 46, the fixed wing aircraft of Carrier Air Wings (CVW) 7 and 9, aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln’s (CVN 72) helicopter squadrons HSC 14 and HSM 71, Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Ross (DDG 71), USS Donald Cook (DDG 75), USS Higgins (DDG 76), USS Mason (DDG 87), and USS John Finn (DDG 113) with HSM 51, two P-8 Poseidon squadrons, and multiple U.S. Air Force aircraft.”

Contact the author: howard@twz.com