Navy investigation finds how rotor spun helicopter off ship

A Navy investigation says an August helicopter crash off the coast of San Diego was not pilot error, but was caused by the mechanical failure of a hose funneling hydraulic fluid to the helicopter’s rotor.

The 23-page command investigation by the Navy’s 3rd Fleet was released Tuesday, and chronicles the events during the 2.5-hour training flight that led up to the Aug. 31 crash of the MH-60S Seahawk helicopter as it landed on the USS Abraham Lincoln during the third of four planned training exercises.

The aircraft fell into the ocean shortly after landing on the ship’s deck; five sailors died. One crew member was later rescued from the ocean alive.

The helicopter’s commander, Lt. Bradley A. Foster was from Oakhurst, California. Foster, 29, had 900 flight hours and 720 of those were logged in the Seahawk. He was in the Navy for more than six years.