The U.S. Navy on Sunday identified the five sailors now presumed dead after a more than 72-hour search and rescue mission was called off following their helicopter crash off the coast of San Diego.
The five sailors, all assigned to the Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 8, were identified as Lt. Bradley A. Foster, 29, a pilot from Oakhurst, California; Lt. Paul R. Fridley, 28, a pilot from Annandale, Virginia; Naval Air Crewman (Helicopter) 2nd Class James P. Buriak, 31, from Salem, Virginia; Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Sarah F. Burns, 31, from Severna Park, Maryland; and Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Bailey J. Tucker, 21, from St. Louis, Missouri. Their bodies all remain missing.
On Saturday, the U.S Navy declared all five deceased, shifting from search and rescue efforts to recovery operations after more than 72 hours of coordinated rescue efforts encompassing 34 search and rescue flights, over 170 hours of flight time, with five search helicopters and constant surface vessel search.
The sailors were riding in a MH-60S helicopter “conducting routine flight operations” from USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) when the aircraft crashed into the sea approximately 60 nautical miles off the coast of San Diego at 4:30 p.m. PST, Aug. 31, the U.S. Navy 3rd Fleet said.
via joemiller
Navy Identifies 5 Sailors Killed In Helicopter Crash
