HOS BAYOU

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Salvage ship recovered helicopter wreckage and bodies from one mile depth

A Navy salvage and diving team aboard the 'HOS Bayou' has recovered the wreckage of a helicopter and the remains of five sailors who were killed in a crash on Aug 31, 2021, about 60 miles off the San Diego coast on Oct 8. The salvage team brought the wreckage of the aircraft and the remains of its crew up from a depth of 5.300 feet. The 'HOS Bayou' arrived at the Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego on Oct. 10 and the remains the five crew members were flown to the Delaware base for identification and review by a coroner. Once that process is complete, they will be released to their families for funeral services. The recovery effort began when the 'HOS Dominator', a ship typically used for submarine recoveries, headed to the location about 60 miles southwest of San Diego where the helicopter was last seen. Starting on Sep 15, the crew used specialized equipment to scan the ocean floor. They continued the search until the wreckage was located with help from a ROV. On Oct. 7, the 'HOS Bayou' was called in from Naval Base Ventura County to assist with retrieving the helicopter. The ROV attached specialized rigging and lift lines to the helicopter’s landing gear and attachments near the back. The ship’s crane line was lowered to the seafloor and connected to the rigging, lifting the helicopter up to the ship. The MH-60S Seahawk from the Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 8, was conducting routine flight operations off the aircraft carrier USS 'Abraham Lincoln' on Aug 31. The helicopter started vibrating side-to-side upon landing on the ship’s flight deck. As a result, the helicopter’s rotor struck the flight deck and the aircraft crashed over the side of the ship. One member of the helicopter’s six-person crew survived and was rescued from the water. Five crew members of the USS 'Abraham Lincoln' were also injured. The Navy searched for the rest of the aircraft’s crew for three days before declaring them dead. Two weeks later, the service began its underwater search and recovery mission. The sailors killed in the crash were: - Lt. Bradley Foster, 29, from Oakhurst, Calif. - Lt. Paul Fridley, 28, from Annandale, Va. - Naval Air Crewman 2nd Class James Buriak, 31, from Salem, Va. - Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Sarah Burns, 31, from Severna Park, Md. - Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Bailey Tucker, 21, from St. Louis. An investigation into the crash was ongoing. Both the Abraham Lincoln and HSC-8 are based at Naval Air Station North Island.