A US Navy helicopter declared an emergency over the Red Sea off the Saudi coast and then dropped off public flight tracking, and the Navy has yet to say what happened to it.
Flight-tracking data shows the Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawk, flying under the call sign VVHR512, declared the emergency at about 5:20 p.m. Eastern Time on Monday, shortly after midnight Tuesday local time, while near Yanbu on Saudi Arabia's western coast. The helicopter was at roughly 475 feet. Its displayed altitude then fell to zero and tracking stopped.
Open Source Intel added:
Now, a US Navy P-8A “Poseidon” is heading towards the area where the MH-60R issued the distress code.
There is a strong possibility that the helicopter crashed into the sea.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the Navy had not confirmed the incident or given any information about the crew or the aircraft. The cause of the emergency is not known. Reports of a crash have circulated on social media, but none has been officially confirmed, and aircraft can also vanish from tracking sites because of coverage gaps or a switched-off transponder.
The MH-60R is a ship- and shore-based naval helicopter used mainly to hunt submarines and surface vessels.
It would be the second such incident in the region in about three months. On July 1, a Navy MH-60S from the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush made an emergency water landing in the Arabian Sea. Three crew members were rescued, and the Navy suspended its search for the fourth after more than 102 hours.
