Navy Identifies Sailors Killed After Helicopter Crash
SAN DIEGO (AP/CBS13) — A Madera County sailor is among those killed in a U.S. Navy helicopter crash in the Pacific Ocean off of Southern California.
The MH-60S helicopter crashed on Aug. 31 about 70 miles off San Diego during what the Navy says were routine flight operations.
Those killed were identified Sunday as: Lt. Bradley Foster, a pilot from Oakhurst, California; Lt. Paul Fridley, a pilot from Annandale, Virginia; James Buriak from Salem, Virginia, who was a naval air crewman 2nd Class; Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Sarah Burns from Severna Park, Maryland; and Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Bailey Tucker from St. Louis, Missouri.
On Saturday, the Navy declared the five missing sailors dead nearly a week after the crash, shifting the search for them to a recovery operation.
The move followed more than 72 hours of coordinated rescue efforts and nearly three dozen search and rescue flights to look for the sailors. An investigation into what caused Tuesday's crash about 70 miles off San Diego is ongoing.
Also injured were five other sailors who were on board the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier where the MH-60S helicopter was operating on the deck before the crash.
(© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
