USAF HH-60Ws rescue 5 Navy sailors after hard landing in California

Published Aug 18, 09:33 PM UTC

On August 10, 2026, U.S. Air Force airmen from the 355th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron and the 88th Test and Evaluation Squadron rapidly deployed two HH-60W Jolly Green II helicopters from Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, to rescue five Navy personnel near Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, California. The Navy MH-60S Seahawk had made a hard landing in mountainous terrain during a high-altitude training flight around 11:30 a.m. The 355th generated the two helicopters within 30 minutes, fixing a circuit breaker issue without spare parts. The aircrews departed at 1 p.m., established contact by 3 p.m., and a pararescue team led by Capt. John Howe assessed the sailors, finding no injuries. All five were extracted by 3:50 p.m. and transferred to their unit at China Lake.