US Navy Recovers Downed Helicopter from Record Ocean Depth

March 23, 2021

An MH-60S on deck of contracted salvage vessel off the coast of Yokosuka, Japan on March 18, 2021, having just been pulled from the depth of 19,075 ft by NAVSEA Supervisor of Salvage and Diving, (SUPSALV) at the request of the Navy Safety Center to facilitate accident investigation. This depth, a SUPSALV record, achieved using the ROV CURV 21 (painted yellow in background), deep ocean lift line and heave compensated Fly Away Dive System (red equipment behind helicopter). (Photo: U.S. Navy)

The U.S. Navy last week retrieved one of its crashed helicopters from 19,075 feet below the surface of the North Pacific, setting a record for the deepest aircraft recovery at sea.

The helicopter, a twin engine Sikorsky Seahawk, crashed off the coast of Okinawa, Japan last year while operating from the amphibious command ship USS Blue Ridge (LCC-19). The air crew was able to escape the MH-60S before it sank and no lives were lost in the accident.

Responding to a U.S. Pacific Command Fleet request, the Naval Sea Systems Command’s (NAVSEA) Supervisor of Salvage and Diving (SUPSALV) located and documented the wreckage using side-scan sonar and photographs of the helicopter as it lay on the ocean floor during North Pacific operations last spring.

SUPSALV returned to the site this month at the request of the Navy Safety Center with CURV 21, a deep-water, remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) with the ability to meet deep ocean salvage requirements to a maximum depth of 20,000 feet.

CURV 21 is a 6,400 pound ROV designed to meet the U.S. Navy's deep ocean salvage requirements down to a maximum depth of 20,000 feet of seawater. CURV was deployed in March 2021 to the North Pacific to recovery a Navy CH-60S which was lost in January 2020 from the USS Blue Ridge (LCC-19). CURV successfully rigged and recovered the aircraft from 19,075 feet, a new SUPSALV Record. (Photo: U.S. Navy)

The SUPSALV team met the contracted salvage vessel in Guam, completed mobilization of CURV and its deep-lift take-up reel, and departed for the five-day transit. Arriving on the crash site March17, the team began recovery operations. Pulled from its depth of 19,075 FSW, the MH-60S’s recovery broke SUPSALV’s own world depth record for an aircraft recovery.

The salvage vessel will proceed to Fleet Activities Yokosuka where the MH-60S will be offloaded for transport back to the U.S., the Navy said.

“As a whole, this operation was fast-paced and entirely successful,” said Bryan Blake, SUPSALV’s Deep Ocean Program Manager. “Our efforts validated the Navy’s deep ocean search and recovery requirements. The capability to recover the airframe and make it available to determine the cause of the accident is a huge plus helping to ensure Naval Aviation safety.