SAN DIEGO — The U.S. Navy has released the names of the five Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 8 crew members who died when their helicopter crashed 60 nautical miles off the coast of California in the sea on Aug 31, 2021, and one of the members was Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Bailey J. Tucker, 21, from St. Louis.
Tucker was also a 2018 Parkway North High School graduate.
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On Saturday the Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet, shifted from search and rescue efforts to recovery operations. This was after more than 72 hours of coordinated rescue efforts encompassing 34 search and rescue flights, over 170 hours of flight time, with five search helicopters and constant surface vessel search."
A military investigation is underway into what caused the crash of the aircraft. The aircraft was assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 8 at Naval Air Station North Island. Navy officials said only that it "was operating on deck before crashing into the sea."
Other sailors were Lt. Bradley A. Foster, 29, a pilot from Oakhurst, California; Lt. Paul R. Fridley, 28, a pilot from Annandale, Virginia; Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Sarah F. Burns, 31, from Severna Park, Maryland; Naval Air Crewman (Helicopter) 2nd Class James P. Buriak, 31, from Salem, Virginia.
