The news from the Navy about what led to the deaths of five sailors in the crash of a helicopter on the last day of August must be hard to hear by the families of those who died.
As we’ve been reporting, the Navy says the helicopter was conducting what are called routine flight operations aboard the deck of the San Diego based aircraft carrier the USS Abraham Lincoln but as the chopper was landing on the flight deck it experienced "side-to-side vibrations," causing the main rotor to strike part of the ship flipping it over and then crashing into the water.
It may have been a routine flight operation, but there are dangers that are inherent even in something called routine in the Navy. When it comes to what sailors do every day, especially aboard a huge nuclear powered aircraft carrier, where they are dealing with the power, precision and speed of planes and helicopters, nothing is really routine.
They train and train and train some more to make whatever they have to do as routine and as safe as possible, but the crew of a huge and powerful ship like the Abraham Lincoln, know the dangers that always exist. There is nothing routine about what these brave men and women in the Navy do every day. And they know it.
And yet they voluntarily choose to become a member of the U.S. Navy, knowing the dangers, but deciding to serve their country in a way that Living in San Diego, we get to know them and admire them. And when a routine flight operation turns into a deadly accident, it reminds us once again how much we need to thank them…and their families.
(Photo Getty Images)