The wreckage of a U.S. Navy Knighthawk helicopter sits where it crash-landed in an empty area about 10 miles southwest of Yokosuka Naval Base on Monday, Dec. 16, 2013. (Trevor Andersen/Stars and Stripes)
YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan – Two crewmembers injured in a U.S. Navy helicopter crash Monday have been transferred to U.S. Naval Hospital Yokosuka, Navy officials said Tuesday.
The Knighthawk crewmembers were initially transported to a Japanese hospital in Yokosuka after the four-person crew attempted an emergency landing in an empty area in Miura, about 10 miles southwest of Yokosuka Naval Base.
The crewmembers were reported in stable condition, according to Navy and Japanese officials. One sailor appeared to have injured his leg. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
The helicopter sent a distress call at 3:31 p.m., crashed and was spotted on the ground by a passerby a minute later. Miura firefighters arrived on the scene about four minutes later, according to Navy reports.
Also on Tuesday, Japanese civic associations submitted petitions to the Navy, calling on the service to take proper safety measures.
Navy and Japanese officials were still determining how to remove the wreckage of the helicopter, which landed on its side.
The helicopter belongs to Naval Air Facility Atsugi’s Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 12. Helicopters from the squadron, which is part of the USS George Washington’s carrier air wing, typically perform search-and-rescue operations, anti-surface warfare exercises and other functions.
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