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Crew safe after Navy helicopter crashes

A military helicopter crashed off the coast of Southern California late Friday, and all seven crew members were rescued, Navy officials said.
/ Source: The Associated Press

A military helicopter crashed off the coast of Southern California late Friday, and all seven crew members were rescued, Navy officials said.

The Navy HH-60H Seahawk helicopter crashed about 100 miles from San Diego around 9 p.m., Navy spokeswoman Lt. Cmdr. Liz Meydenbauer said. The crew was rescued soon after.

"They were picked up pretty quickly," Meydenbauer said.

None of the crew was seriously hurt. Meydenbauer said the helicopter was lost at sea.

The aircraft was assigned to Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron 2, stationed at Naval Air Station North Island near San Diego. It was providing support for the Abraham Lincoln Strike Group at the time of the crash.

The USS Lincoln, an aircraft carrier, was taking part in a training exercise, Meydenbauer said.

The cause of the crash was under investigation.



A different type of Navy helicopter conducting training operations from a ship crashed about 50 miles off the Southern California coast in January, killing all four crew members.

The MH-60S was on a mission off the USS Bonhomme Richard near San Clemente Island when it crashed.