The United States Navy announced on Friday that 10 crew members had been injured in a Thursday training incident involving two MH-60S Seahawk helicopters.
In Friday’s press release, Navy officials stated, “The U.S. Navy is investigating the cause of an incident involving two MH-60S Seahawk helicopters assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 12 on the training ranges of Naval Air Station (NAS) Fallon, Nevada, at approximately 7:25 p.m. (PDT) on Aug. 15.”
According to the press release, the two helicopters each had a crew of five Navy personnel and were conducting “routine training” when Thursday’s incident occurred. Navy officials explained that the 10 crew members were transported to a local hospital for medical treatment and were released from the hospital after receiving treatment for non-life-threatening injuries.
Navy officials noted that Naval Air Station Fallon security personnel had secured the site of Thursday’s training incident, which occurred at the remote Fallon Range Training Complex. Officials also announced that the cause of the training incident was being investigated.
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According to the press release, Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 12 is assigned to Carrier Air Wing 5 and is conducting “comprehensive training” at Naval Air Station Fallon.
“Assigned to Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5, HSC-12 is currently at NAS Fallon for comprehensive, integrated training in both real and simulated environments,” Navy officials stated. “CVW-5 is the ready, reliable and proven Forward-Deployed Naval Forces-Japan (FDNF-J) carrier air wing. CVW-5 will remain the FDNF-J air wing following the planned hull swap with Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73).”
According to Stars and Stripes, the Navy’s Seahawk helicopters have been plagued with a series of incidents over the past several years, including a fatal incident in August of 2021 and two other incidents in October of 2018. The fatal incident resulted in the death of five Navy sailors after a Seahawk helicopter flipped off the USS Abraham Lincoln’s deck near San Diego, California. Five other Navy sailors were injured in the helicopter incident.
