Royal Australian Navy MH-60R Helicopter Crashes In Philippine Sea

Royal Australian Navy MH-60R Helicopter Crashes In Philippine Sea
An MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter from the Royal Australian Navy Anzac-class frigate HMAS Ballarat (FFH 155) prepares to land on the flight deck aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain (DDG 56) during flight operations. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Markus Castaneda/Released)

Royal Australian Navy Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawk ditched in the Philippine Sea during a routine flight. There were three crew members on board who were rescued approximately 20 minutes later with minor injuries.

The helicopter was operating from HMAS Brisbane as part of a Regional Presence Deployment with HMAS Warramunga, when the crew conducted an emergency landing in the water.

HMAS Brisbane deployed sea boats and rescued the crew approximately 20 minutes later. The crew received first aid for minor injuries upon their return to HMAS Brisbane.

Commander of the Australian Fleet, Rear Admiral Mark Hammond, commended the crews of both ships involved for their quick response to the emergency.

“The successful rescue is a credit to the devotion to duty and skill of the officers and sailors of HMAS Brisbane,” Rear Admiral Hammond said.

“Their immediate actions ensured the survival of the aircrew, validating the significant training undertaken in the event an emergency of this nature occurs.”

Both ships continue to search the area for any debris, which will aid in determining the cause of the incident.

“With the aircrew safe, investigating the circumstances that led to the helicopter ditching is the priority at the moment,” Rear Admiral Hammond said.

“As a precaution, we have temporarily paused flying operations of the MH-60R Seahawk fleet.”

Defence is reviewing the impact of the incident on Brisbane and Warramunga’s current deployment.

Check Also

U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighter Jet Crashes in South Korea

U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighter Jet Crashes in South Korea: Pilot Rescued Safely

A KF-16 Fighting Falcon from the 19th Fighter Wing taxis to the runway at Jungwon …

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *