Bodies Recovered in Navy Helicopter Crash
C O R P U S C H R I S T I, Texas, Aug. 11, 2000 -- A frantic, two-day search forsurvivors of a Navy helicopter crash ended today when divers foundthe bodies of two missing airmen among the helicopter’s wreckage inthe Gulf of Mexico.
Four other airmen—two dead and two injured—were pulled fromthe water Thursday after the helicopter crashed during a trainingmission.
“This has been a very difficult situation,” said Cmdr. BobRiehl, commanding officer of the HM-15 mine countermeasuressquadron based at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi. “It was veryimportant to us to bring those last crew members back, and evenmore important to their families.”
The MH-53E helicopter, also known as a Sea Dragon, was hoveringabout 17 miles off shore on a minesweeping training missionThursday morning when it reported a mechanical malfunction and thenplummeted into the water.
Floating wreckage was spotted 15 minutes after the distresscall, and the two survivors were found floating in a life raftabout 15 minutes later.
Petty officers Jeremy J. Yaklin, 19, of Lapeer, Mich. and ShawnR. Palyo, 20, of Stratford, Conn., were hospitalized in stablecondition Friday, said Lt. j.g. Chuck Bell with Naval Air StationCorpus Christi. Yaklin suffered a broken pelvis and Palyo had cutsto his face and upper body.
The Navy identified the dead crew members as the pilot, Lt.Shawn O. Jacobs, 30, of Jefferson City, Mo.; co-pilot Lt. Edward R.Fassnacht, 31, of Akron, Ohio; and petty officers Jeffrey S.Paschal, 40, of Phoenix, and David E. Rutherford, 27, of Masontown,Pa. Fassnacht’s and Rutherford’s bodies were found thisafternoon.
Ongoing InvestigationThe Navy is putting together an investigation team, andofficials have closed about five miles of beaches as they continueto recover debris from the shoreline.
The helicopter’s tail, main fuselage, engines and fuel tankswere found by sonar equipment within a 200-square-foot patch ofsand about 55 feet below the surface, said Navy Cmdr. BarryCoceano.
The sunken craft will stay on the Gulf floor until investigatorsinspect its position, Riehl said. He said an investigation teamcould take months to determine the cause of the crash.
Flights To resumeDespite the unknown cause, none of the squadron’s helicoptershas been grounded and flights will resume Monday, Riehl said.
“We need to continue to be confident in what we do and theaircraft we fly,” he said.
Six members of the same squadron, HM-15, were killed in thePersian Gulf in 1991 when their Sea Dragon helicopter crashed aftertake off.
The Sea Dragon is manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. inStratford, Conn. Besides mine-countermeasures, it can be used totow vessels or transport up to 55 passengers or cargo.
“It’s a very successful mine counter-measures helicopter,”said company spokesman Bill Tuttle. He estimated the Navy has afleet of more than 40 MH-53Es.