Friday Sep 23, 2011 1San Diego, A Navy explosive ordnance disposal team will detonate a pair of Sea Sparrow missiles jettisoned Aug. 30 by a Navy helicopter crew off the coast of Camp Pendleton, Calif., while hauling the missiles to a ship, 3rd Fleet said Thursday in a statement.
The crew of the MH-60S Seahawk helicopter was delivering the two RIM-7P surface-to-air missiles to the amphibious assault ship Bonhomme Richard when the load swung out of control “and struck the fuselage of the helicopter, threatening the pilots and crew and safe operation of the aircraft,” officials said in a statement released by 3rd Fleet and Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 1.
The missiles fell 400 feet into the ocean, ending up 60 feet below the surface, about 1.7 miles east of Camp Pendleton’s Red Beach training area. The helicopter landed on the ship “with visible damage to its fuselage,” officials said.
The EOD team will use C-4 explosives to blast the missiles in a controlled underwater detonation scheduled for sometime between Sept. 26 and 28.
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