Third US military aircraft crashes in S. California in one week

Another US warplane has crashed in the California desert near El Centro -- the third in the region in a week and less than 48 hours after an MV-22B Osprey crash killed the five Marines on board in the same area.

A Navy MH-60S Seahawk crashed on Thursday while conducting a routine training flight from Naval Air Facility El Centro at about 6 p.m. local time, the service declared in a Friday press release cited by Military.com news outlet.

According to the report, a social media post from the facility further noted that the crash was located about 35 miles north of Yuma, Arizona. The Seahawk was assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 3, based at Naval Air Station North Island, California.

In an update released on Friday, the Navy announced that all four of the aircrew on board the helicopter survived, though one sailor suffered "non-life-threatening injuries" and had to be taken to a nearby hospital.

Although the latest crash appears to have ended without serious injury, the incident caps off a deadly week in southern California for the US Navy, the report added.

Last Friday, Navy pilot Lt. Richard Bullock was killed when his F/A-18 Super Hornet jetfighter crashed near Trona, California, about 250 miles from Naval Air Station Lemoore and 400 miles north of El Centro.

On the same day, the report added, 29-year-old Electronics Technician 2nd Class John Deltoro was killed in a car crash while returning from training at Camp Billy Machen in Niland -- a town just north of El Centro. Deltoro and four other sailors were driving at about 10 p.m. on June 3 when their vehicle went off the road and struck a large boulder.

The four other sailors in the car were all hospitalized. All five were part of a West Coast-based Naval Special Warfare unit, according to the US Navy, which did not elaborate on the cause of the accident.

The incident was then followed by the crash of the MV-22B Osprey on Wednesday in Glamis, California -- a small town between El Centro and Yuma – which killed all five Marines aboard. According to the Corps, the aircraft was stationed at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.

US military aircraft crashes in California killing 4 marines

A US military plane crashed in Imperial County in California on Wednesday evening, killing four marines onboard.

The three aircraft crashes involved three different platforms, and the aircraft themselves were based on three different bases.

Although the series of incidents paint a grim picture, the report said, “Nothing seems to connect all of the mishaps… given the information available.”

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