A US Navy helicopter sent a general emergency signal over the Red Sea, after which its altitude dropped sharply and flight data stopped transmitting, infohub.kz reports.
The aircraft is a US Navy MH-60R Seahawk, which disappeared from tracking systems after the distress signal. The incident occurred off the western coast of Saudi Arabia.
According to BNO News, the helicopter declared an emergency while near the Saudi Arabian coast. It then stopped appearing in tracking systems. The reason for the signal is not yet known. The US Navy has not said what happened to the helicopter.
OSINT613, citing tracking service data, reported that the MH-60R transmitted code 7700, indicating a general emergency, and began a rapid descent before disappearing. According to the outlet, a US Navy P-8A Poseidon aircraft headed to the area. OSINT613 suggests the helicopter may have crashed into the sea.
According to Flightradar24 data, the helicopter with callsign VVHR512 sent a distress signal on October 5 at about 17:20 Eastern Time (02:20 Astana time on October 6) while near the city of Yanbu on Saudi Arabia's western coast. At that moment, the service recorded its altitude at about 475 feet (145 m). The displayed altitude then dropped to zero, after which flight data stopped transmitting.