CORONADO - The Navy has identified the helicopter crewman killed last week in a fuel tank accident at Naval Air Station North Island.
Naval Helicopter Aircrewman 1st Class Jonathan Richard Clement and another unnamed sailor were struck by an auxiliary fuel tank that detached from an HH-60H Seahawk helicopter during a "hot seat" training session at the air base on July 30.
Clement, 31, was rushed to the emergency room at UC San Diego Medical Center in Hillcrest.
Clement was declared dead the next day. The second sailor was treated for minor injuries and released from the hospital the same day.
According to the Navy Times, both sailors were assigned to the "Firehawks" of North Island-based Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 85.
"It was an auxiliary tank and it had fuel in it and might have weighed in excess of 1,500 lbs," said Naval Air Forces spokesman Cmdr. Ron Flanders.
Clement was an 11-year Navy veteran originally from Florida. He previously served with the "Merlins" of San Diego-based Helicopter Combat Support Squadron 3 and the "Golden Falcons" of HSC-12 in Japan, the Navy Times reported.
Both an Enlisted Naval Aircrew Warfare and Aviation Warfare Specialist, Clement's personal decorations included four Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals.
