A dozen sailors injured in helicopter crash on aircraft carrier deck

Numerous sailors were injured Friday when a Navy helicopter crashed on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier in the Philippine Sea, according to a service statement.

An MH-60 Seahawk “made an emergency landing and crashed” shortly after takeoff on the flight deck of the USS Ronald Reagan at approximately 9:00 a.m., the Navy’s 7th Fleet said.

{mosads}“Service members injured in the crash are in stable condition for non-life threatening injuries that ranged from minor abrasions and lacerations to fractures,” the Navy notes. 

“The most seriously injured were medically evacuated off the ship to a hospital in the Philippines, while remaining injured are under evaluation by Ronald Reagan medical staff.”

Stars and Stripes reported that 12 people were injured, with four air crewmembers aboard the helicopter when it crashed.

The cause of the incident is under investigation.

At the time of the accident, the country’s only forward-deployed aircraft carrier “was conducting routine operations in the Philippine Sea.”

The Ronald Reagan “remains fully mission capable and has resumed flight operations.”

The U.S. military has had a string of recent crashes, including a Navy transporter plane crash last November in the Pacific Ocean near Japan, leaving three dead.

In March, four Marines were killed in a CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter crash in Southern California. 

And in April, a Marine AV-8B Harrier jet crashed at Djibouti Ambouli International Airport, with the pilot ejecting. Hours later, a Marine CH-53 Super Stallion helicopter suffered structural damage during a landing.