One Missing After Helicopter Makes ‘Emergency Water Landing’ Near Iran, US Navy Says

A helicopter from the U.S. 5th fleet had an “emergency water landing” in the Arabian Sea on Wednesday, according to the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command.

The emergency water landing happened at 3:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday, according to an X post from the U.S. 5th Fleet. The helicopter had a crew of four people; three were recovered, but one crewmember is still missing, according to the X post.

The helicopter was an MH-60S Seahawk helicopter assigned to USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77), according to the X post. There is no indication that the emergency was caused by hostile action, the post said.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The U.S. 5th Fleet declined to comment.

The Seahawk can be equipped for multiple different missions, including Anti-Surface Warfare, combat support, humanitarian disaster relief, Combat Search and Rescue, aero medical evacuation, SPECWAR and organic Airborne Mine Countermeasures, according to the U.S. Navy. However, it remains unclear what package the helicopter was flying with at the time it went down.

MH-60S Seahawk helicopters are worth roughly $25 million to $31 million, according to Pentagon budget figures from fiscal 2015, the final year of Navy procurement for the Seahawks.

The ship the helicopter was assigned to, the USS George H.W. Bush, is a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, a massive vessel with a crew of roughly 5,000 people, according to the U.S. Navy