CORONADO, Calif — A U.S. Navy helicopter was pulled out of the San Diego Bay on Saturday after it crashed Thursday evening with six crew members on board.
Navy Commander Beth Teach confirmed an MH-60R Seahawk from Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 41 crashed into the waters around 6:40 p.m. Coronado Fire responded to a call on Strand Way and Guadalcanal in Coronado on the Silver Strand shortly after. At the time of the incident, there were two pilots and four aircrew on the helicopter. The crew was conducting day-into-night search and rescue training, specifically for the enlisted aircrew role of rescue swimming.
"Due to the nature of the training, a safety boat was on location and, with the assistance of Federal Fire, all six crew members survived and were promptly moved ashore," said Teach.
The cause of the crash was still under investigation as of Saturday evening, Teach said in a release.
The helicopter squadron, according to a release from the Navy, is a Fleet Replacement Squadron that trains new naval aviators to fly and fight the MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter.
The entire crew of six onboard the MH-60R helicopter underwent medical evaluation without any critical or life-threatening injuries, according to Commander Teach. All six crew members had been released from the hospital by 7 p.m. Friday, Teach said.
On Saturday afternoon Commander Teach told CBS 8 the helicopter was removed from the water and was moved to Naval Base Coronado. Teach said on Friday a lot of planning and preparation goes into this. She said crews look at factors like weather, water conditions, and the environment. They want to preserve the aircraft as much as possible to try and determine what went wrong. The effort took nearly 10 hours.
A mobile diving and salvage company lifted the aircraft from 15 feet of water around noon Saturday, according to a press release Teach sent that evening. The helicopter was then stabilized on an afloat barge before being moved to Naval Base Coronado and offloaded onto the pier, according to the release.
The diving and salvage company coordinated the work with Navy Region Southwest, Naval Facilities Engineering Command and contracted support, according to the release.
"I am immensely proud of the teamwork and determination shown by our Sailors and civilians throughout the recovery," Capt. Newt McKissick, commanding officer of Naval Base Coronado, said in the release. "Most importantly, I am grateful the crew is safe, and I extend my heartfelt thanks to everyone who swiftly and effectively accomplished this significant task."
On Friday, divers from the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit (EODMU) THREE made an assessment of the crash site and the initial reports showed that the body of the aircraft remains intact, the rotor blade created minimal debris, and no fuel leaks were observed.
CBS 8 spoke to former Navy Pilot and aviation attorney John Gagliano. He said Navy training certainly helped save the crew member's lives.
"All air crews are trained to survive helicopter crashes in water. They go into something called the 'Helo Dunker,'" said Gagliano. "You train where a helicopter lands in the water and flips over and you're strapped in, blindfolded, and you have to find your way out. That's part of the training all air crews [go through] to ensure something like what happened last night, everyone gets out safely."
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