Posted on 12/15/2005 9:27:03 AM PST by A.A. Cunningham
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Navy has called off the search for the SB-60B Seahawk helicopter that went down Tuesday in the eastern Pacific, off the coast of Colombia.
The aircraft, attached to Mayport Naval Station's Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Light 48, was conducting anti-narco-terrorism operations off the USS DeWert at the time of the crash. It went down within sight of the frigate. No distress call was received.
The names of the three-person crew were not released.
The SH-60B Seahawk helicopter was within sight of the frigate USS DeWert when it went down in the eastern Pacific, said Bill Austin, a spokesman for the U.S. Naval Station at Mayport, Fla., where the troops were based.
"The helicopter didn't transmit any kind of distress call that we know of," said Bill Austin, a Navy spokesman at Mayport.
He said he did not know how far the helicopter was from the ship when it went down, or whether it had just taken off or was returning.
The Colombian navy sent a marine patrol plane to join in the U.S. Navy's search, said Colombian Adm. Jairo Pena, commander of Colombia's Pacific fleet.
"We received the report that it fell to the water inexplicably," Pena said, adding that the accident occurred about 5 a.m., but that by Tuesday afternoon, the search still had been fruitless.
He said the DeWert is part of a unit that usually carries out anti-drug missions in international waters. "We are searching in a zone about 350 miles from the Colombian coast," off the port of Buenaventura, Pena said.
Colombia is the world's largest cocaine producer and a major supplier of heroin to the United States.
The crew members were assigned to the Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Light 48 based in Mayport, the U.S. Navy said in a statement, but did not say what they were doing in the area.
Navy aircraft often fly counter-drug missions off ships in the area.
The U.S. has been helping the Colombian police and military battle the country's drug gangs and have made several major arrests in recent years. The Pacific coast of Colombia is a popular haven for drug smugglers, particularly from the Ecuador border up toward Buenaventura, where there are few roads and many inland waterways.
Since 2000, the United States has spent $4 billion for "Plan Colombia," a joint U.S.-Colombia anti-drug program. The United States provides the Colombian government with training, equipment and other aid under the project.
In September, another SH-60 from Mayport was lost off the coast of North Carolina. All three crewmembers died aboard that helicopter, which was attached to HSL-44.
The Bermuda triangle lives on?
Chavez...
It's because of the Bush tax cuts, and the ongoing war in Iraq diverting too many Pentagon assets. Quagmire! /DUmmie mode
Praying for those crewmembers.
We flew many counter drug Ops (E2C Squadron)out of So. America, Puerto Rico, etc. Not easy.
The HSL guys are real pros but, this kind of thing happens. Prayers for the families and the Sailors left behind.
Agreed - I was an HSL Det Chief, at HSL 49 in San Diego. This seems like some kind of catastrophic mechanical failure, it ssound like the bird went down hard and fast.
From Naval Station Mayport Public Affairs
MAYPORT, Fl. (NNS) -- Three Sailors from Naval Station Mayport’s Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron (Light) (HSL) 48, who were killed Dec. 13 when their helicopter crashed while conducting counter-narco terrorism operations in international waters west of Colombia have been identified as:
Lt. Christopher H. Snyder, 28, pilot, of Hartford, Ky.
Lt.j.g. Nicolas J. Juron, 25, pilot, of Lexington Park, Md.
Aviation Warfare Systems Operator 2nd Class John N. Kaye III, 22, of Waterloo, Iowa.
Search and rescue operations officially ended at approximately 6:15 p.m. Dec. 13 after an extensive search in the vicinity of the debris field by U.S. and Colombian navy air and surface assets.
The cause of the accident is under investigation.
Further questions regarding this incident should be addressed to the Naval Station Mayport Public Affairs Office at (904) 219-8114.
Wrong ocean.
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