A U.S. Navy MH-60R Seahawk helicopter crashed shortly after takeoff on Friday morning, making an emergency landing on the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan in the Philippine Sea, and service members were injured.
The Navy’s 7th Fleet said in a statement that the injured service members are in stable condition for non-life-threatening injuries.
Injuries ranged from “minor abrasions and lacerations to fractures,” and those who were more seriously injured were medically evacuated, according to the Navy.
The emergency landing took place around 9 a.m. local time on Friday, and the helicopter crashed on the ship’s flight deck shortly after takeoff.
The cause of the mishap is under investigation, the 7th Fleet said, and the Ronald Reagan has since resumed flight operations.
Ronald Reagan Resumes Flight Operations Following Helicopter Crash.
Full Story: https://t.co/vp7WzpnWA0 pic.twitter.com/RJTtDQUQjV— 7th Fleet (@US7thFleet) October 19, 2018
The MH-60R is assigned to the Saberhawks of the Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 77.
The 7th Fleet also said:
Families of the injured were notified in accordance with Navy policy.
At the time of the mishap, the Ronald Reagan Strike Group was conducting routine operations in the Philippine Sea.
The Ronald Reagan Strike Group is forward-deployed to the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations in support of security and stability in the Indo-Pacific Region.
