Five Navy sailors killed in helicopter crash identified

The Navy on Sunday identified the five sailors who died in a helicopter crash in the ocean near San Diego last month.

On Saturday, the Navy declared the five sailors dead, shifting the search and rescue mission to that of a recovery operation. Only one crew member from the crash was saved.

They five sailors were identified on Sunday as: Lt. Bradley A. Foster, 29; Lt. Paul R. Fridley, 28; Naval Air Crewman 2nd Class James P. Buriak, 31; Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Sarah F. Burns, 31; and Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Bailey J. Tucker, 21.

Foster was from Oakhurst, California; Fridley from Annandale, Virginia; Buriak from Salem, Virginia; Burns from Severna Park, Maryland; and Tucker from St. Louis, Missouri.

Both Foster and Fridley were pilots, while Buriak was a helicopter crewman. Burns and Tucker were both hospital corpsmen.

#USNavy has identified the 5 Sailors killed in an Aug. 31st helicopter crash:

Lt. Bradley A. Foster, 29
Lt. Paul R. Fridley, 28
Naval Air Crewman 2nd Class James P. Buriak, 31
HM2 Sarah F. Burns, 31
HM2 Bailey J. Tucker, 21#HonorTheFallen

MORE: https://t.co/nHtS5DDIg1 pic.twitter.com/qbp01eZL2D

— U.S. Navy (@USNavy) September 5, 2021

The five sailors are believed to have died on Aug. 31 when their helicopter crashed about 60 nautical miles off the coast of San Diego.

The Navy officially declared the five sailors dead after conducting a search and rescue mission for more than 72 hours, with the operation “encompassing 34 search and rescue flights, over 170 hours of flight time, with 5 search helicopters and constant surface vessel search.”

An investigation into the incident is currently underway, the Navy said.