A U.S. Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk crashed during a training flight near Harbor Mountain in Sitka, Alaska, on June 22, injuring all four crew members and prompting an investigation amid a national wave of recent aviation incidents.
A Coast Guard helicopter went down during a training flight in Sitka, Alaska, and by mid-morning local time, emergency crews were already arriving at the crash site.
The U.S. Coast Guard said its MH-60 Jayhawk from Air Station Sitka crashed during training near Harbor Mountain on June 22. Officials said all four crew members were injured and were transported to Mt. Edgecumbe Medical Center after Sitka Fire and Rescue responded to the scene at about 11 a.m. local time.
The Coast Guard did not immediately disclose the aircrew members’ conditions. No deaths were reported. The cause of the crash is under investigation.
At the Coast Guard Arctic District command center, watch standers received the initial report of the crash at around 10:07 a.m. local time. Earlier, the agency said it was “actively responding to a reported crash” in Sitka.
“The safety, well-being, and rescue of our crew members is our absolute, immediate priority,” the Coast Guard said in a statement posted on social media. “A formal investigation will be conducted to determine the circumstances surrounding the event.”
Sitka is a city-borough in southeast Alaska with a population of over 8,300 people. The city and borough are spread over several islands, and it is about 95 air miles southwest of Juneau, Alaska’s capital.
The crash comes while aviation safety is drawing heightened attention across the country following a series of major incidents in the same month. Multiple crashes—spanning a private jet. a skydiving plane. and two military jets—have occurred within days of one another. involving different aircraft and operating contexts.
Dr. Kristy Kiernan. associate director of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Boeing Center for Aviation and Aerospace Safety. said clusters of incidents can prompt immediate concern. but early signals suggest the events are unlikely to be connected. “In this case. you have four situations that involve different aircraft. different engines. different operators. different regulatory structures that they operate under. Almost everything that could be different in terms of the context and the environment is different,” Kiernan said. She added that it is “extremely unlikely to derive from a common issue.”.
Those other incidents include:
— June 13: A U.S. Marine Corps F/A‑18 Hornet crashed in Washington state, sparking a wildfire but leaving the pilot with only minor injuries, according to local authorities and military officials. The pilot ejected and was recovered by the local sheriff’s department, according to the Marine Corps.
— June 14: A skydiving plane crashed shortly after takeoff in Missouri, killing all 12 people on board. Authorities said the aircraft was carrying a pilot and 11 passengers preparing for a skydiving outing when it went down near the airport and burst into flames.
— June 15: A U.S. Air Force B‑52 Stratofortress bomber “crashed and burst into flames” shortly after takeoff from Edwards Air Force Base in Southern California. Military officials said all eight people on board died. The incident occurred while the aircraft was on a test mission in support of a radar modernization program.
— June 16: A small business jet crashed onto a highway in a southern Texas city along the Mexico border after the aircraft reported mechanical issues, according to authorities. Police said six people were on board, and one person was killed.
Each of those incidents remains under separate investigation by federal or military authorities.
Additional incidents have also been reported in recent days. The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a near miss at Boston Logan International Airport on June 20. after a Delta Air Lines flight from Dallas was forced to abort its landing in Boston because another aircraft was departing from an intersecting runway. Over the weekend. authorities said eight people were killed in separate plane crashes in Maryland. Ohio. and Kentucky. according to reporting from ABC News. local television station WKYC. and the Lexington Herald-Leader.
For now, the Coast Guard’s June 22 crash is the immediate focus. The agency said its priority is the safety and recovery of the four injured crew members, while investigators work to determine what led to the MH-60 Jayhawk going down during training near Harbor Mountain in Sitka.
U.S. Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk Sitka Alaska helicopter crash Harbor Mountain aviation safety aviation incidents Air Station Sitka Mt. Edgecumbe Medical Center investigation