All six crew members aboard a US Navy helicopter miraculously survived a crash into San Diego Bay Thursday evening, according to reports.
The MH-60R helicopter hit the water at around 6:40 p.m., Navy Cmdr. Beth Teach, a Naval Air Force Pacific Fleet spokesperson, confirmed to Fox 5 San Diego.
The helicopter had been performing routine training when it went down.
“Due to the nature of the training, a safety boat was on location and, with the assistance of Federal Fire, all six crew members survived and were promptly moved ashore,” Teach said.
“All personnel are undergoing medical evaluation at this time.”
An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the crash.
The US Coast Guard is on the scene to assist with the incident.
The helicopter had been stationed at Naval Air Station North Island and is part of the HSM-41, a “fleet replacement” or training squadron.
All nine were members of the 101st Airborne Division and were training at Fort Campbell in Kentucky during the tragic crash.
“This is a time of great sadness for the 101st Airborne Division. The loss of these soldiers will reverberate through our formations for years to come,” said Maj. Gen. JP McGee, commanding general of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and Fort Campbell.
The Army identified the soldiers as: Warrant Officer 1 Jeffery Barnes, 33, of Milton, Florida; Cpl. Emilie Marie Eve Bolanos, 23, of Austin, Texas; Chief Warrant Officer 2 Zachary Esparza, 36, of Jackson, Missouri; Sgt. Isaacjohn Gayo, 27, of Los Angeles.; Staff Sgt. Joshua C. Gore, 25, of Morehead City, North Carolina; Warrant Officer 1 Aaron Healy, 32, of Cape Coral, Florida; Staff Sgt. Taylor Mitchell, 30, of Mountain Brook, Alabama; Chief Warrant Officer 2 Rusten Smith, 32, of Rolla, Missouri; and Sgt. David Solinas Jr., 23, of Oradell, New Jersey.
The four soldiers piloting the two Black Hawks were Esparza, Smith, Barnes and Healy, according to the Army.
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All of the deceased were remembered fondly in heartbreaking tributes across the country Friday.
Smith was remembered by a middle school teacher as a driven and ambitious person.
“What a great kid. What a tragedy,” Busby said by phone from his home in St. James, Missouri, the small town where Smith grew up. “I’ll be honest I wept — what a shame.”
Solinas — one of the two youngest killed in the crash — was a dedicated flight medic, his brother Adrian said in a statement.
“We are a faithful family, and we are proud David was training to rescue soldiers on the battlefield,” he said. “Being a flight medic is one of the most difficult jobs that you can do, and illustrates that David was a man of compassion and faith.
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North Carolina Pastor Time Gore posted on Facebook that his “precious son” Gore leaves behind a pregnant wife.
“My son and his precious wife were expecting and it is a boy,” the pastor revealed of daughter-in-law Hailey Gore and the child she is expecting “in about 6 months.”
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear ordered flags at state buildings lowered to half-staff from sunrise on Saturday until sunset Monday in honor of the nine victims.
The soldiers — five on one of the choppers and four on the other — were conducting a “planned training exercise” that involved using night-vision goggles when they plummeted to the ground.
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The accident occurred during flying and not during the course of a medical evacuation drill, said Brig. Gen. John Lubas, the 101st Airborne deputy commander.
One witness noted that the aircraft was flying “pretty low” over local homes when they collided.
Photos from the scene showed a huge ball of flames as rescuers rushed to the wrecked HH-60 Blackhawk helicopters.
All nine on board were pronounced dead at the scene. No civilians were injured in the crash.
It was not clear why the helicopters collided given clear visibility and low wind, and neither pilot made any distress calls.
An Army aviation safety team from Fort Rucker, Alabama, was on the scene Friday to investigate the deadly crash.
An emotional Vanessa Bryant has spoken out after being awarded $16 million in her trial against Los Angeles County.
On Wednesday, a federal jury gave their verdict after first responders snapped and shared grisly photos of the fatal 2020 helicopter crash that killed Vanessa’s husband Kobe Bryant, their 13-year-old daughter Gianna, and seven others.
The panel of nine jurors agreed that deputies and firefighters invaded the privacy of the NBA star’s widow and brought her emotional distress by taking photos of the remains of the LA Lakers hero and his daughter.
Hours after the verdict, Vanessa rushed to social media to celebrate the ruling.
“All for you! I love you! JUSTICE for Kobe and Gigi,” the 40-year-old wrote on Instagram alongside a snap of herself with her late husband and daughter.
“#BetOnYourself #Mambaday #Mambamentality,” added Vanessa, who is also mom to daughters Natalia, 19, Bianka, 5, and 3-year-old Capri.
Vanessa wept quietly as the verdict was read following 4.5 hours of jury deliberation, and walked out of court holding Natalia’s hand.
The jurors also awarded $15 million to plaintiff Chris Chester, who lost his wife Sarah and daughter Payton in the Calabasas, California, wreck.
Jurors unanimously found that the LA County Sheriff’s Department violated the constitutional rights of Bryant and Chester when they failed to train their employees on accident scene picture-sharing protocol.
Bryant’s attorney, Luis Li told the jury the photos were “not public and not [for] deputies to share.”
The pictures were shared mostly between employees of the LA County sheriff’s and fire departments and seen by some of their spouses.
“I live in fear every day of being on social media and these popping up,” she testified last week. “I live in fear of my daughters being on social media and these popping up.”
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