Jacksonville-based helicopter crashes; five killed

A Navy helicopter based at Jacksonville Naval Air Station struck power lines and crashed Monday night during a training mission in Nevada, killing all five crew members aboard, officials announced this morning.

The names of the SH-60F Seahawk crew have not been released, pending notification of family, Navy officials said.

In a news release, the Navy said the crash occurred at 9:25 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time about 10 miles west of Austin, Nev.

The aircraft and crew were part of Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron 7, which is part of the USS Harry S. Truman's Carrier Air Wing 3. The squadron is on a one-month training assignment at Fallon NAS hat began April 30, the Navy said.

"It appears the aircraft impacted high-voltage transmission lines" just before the crash, Miriam Gallet, a spokeswoman for Jacksonville NAS, told the Times-Union.

Sailors at the base are feeling the pain even though most don't know the identities of the deceased, she said.

"Everybody is just dealing with this tremendous loss."

No further information is available, she said.

For more information about this story, see tomorrow's Times-Union.

By Jeff Brumley, The Times-Union. Contact: jeff.brumley@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4310
Source: www.jacksonville.com