U.S. Navy MH-60S Seahawk Goes Down In Arabian Sea (Updated)

Summary

A U.S. Navy MH-60S Seahawk helicopter assigned to the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) made an emergency water landing in the Arabian Sea on July 1, 2026, at approximately 3:30 a.m. EDT, with authorities confirming no indication of hostile action as the cause. Three of the four crew members were successfully recovered and reported to be in stable condition aboard the carrier, while the fourth crew member remained missing following the incident. An extensive multi-day search and rescue operation was launched, covering more than 14,000 square miles over 102 hours and involving numerous naval assets including multiple helicopter squadrons, five Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers, two P-8 Poseidon squadrons, and U.S. Air Force aircraft. Despite the massive coordinated effort, the U.S. Navy officially suspended the search on July 5, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. AST, with the missing sailor's name withheld pending next-of-kin notification. This incident occurred amid ongoing U.S.-Iran nuclear negotiations and follows a similar helicopter crash involving a U.S. Army AH-64 Apache in the Gulf of Oman in early June.