SAN DIEGO — The U.S. Navy released the names of the five Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 8 crewmembers who died when their helicopter crashed into the sea off the coast of California on Aug 31.
Names and pictures of the deceased crewmembers can be seen below:
Lt. Bradley A. Foster, 29, a pilot from Oakhurst, California
A GoFundMe page has been set up by the HSC-8 Officers Spouses Club to help support the family of Bradley Foster.
Lt. Paul R. Fridley, 28, a pilot from Annandale, Virginia
A GoFundMe page has been set up by the HSC-8 Officers Spouses Club to help support the family of Paul Fridley.
Naval Air Crewman (Helicopter) 2nd Class James P. Buriak, 31, from Salem, Virginia
A GoFundMe page has been set up by the HSC-8 Officers Spouses Club to help support the family of James Buriak.
Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Sarah F. Burns, 31, from Severna Park, Maryland
A GoFundMe page has been set up by the HSC-8 Officers Spouses Club to help support the family of Sarah Burns.
Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Bailey J. Tucker, 21, from St. Louis, Missouri
A GoFundMe page has been set up by the HSC-8 Officers Spouses Club to help support the family of Bailey Tucker.
On Saturday the Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet shifted the "transition from search and rescue efforts to recovery operations comes after more than 72 hours of coordinated rescue efforts encompassing 34 search and rescue flights, over 170 hours of flight time, with five search helicopters and constant surface vessel search."
A military investigation is underway into what caused the crash of the aircraft, which was assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 8 at Naval Air Station North Island. Navy officials said only that it "was operating on deck before crashing into the sea."
Background
A U.S. Navy helicopter with the USS Abraham Lincoln crashed about 60 nautical miles off the coast of San Diego while "conducting routine flight operations," at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 31, according to officials.
Five crewmembers were unaccounted for during the crash which prompted an immediate search and rescue mission with the Navy and Coast Guard that went on for multiple days.
On Wednesday, the navy released details that the aircraft was operating on the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln before crashing into the sea.
The U.S. Pacific Fleet reported that one person was rescued Tuesday night. The rescued sailor and two other crew members who were hurt in the accident while engaging in duties aboard the San Diego-based aircraft carrier were taken ashore for medical care in stable condition. Three other personnel suffered minor injuries on the ship and remained aboard, officials said.
While the investigation is underway as to what caused the crash, comments have flooded the USS Abraham Lincoln's page on Facebook.