Annandale Sailor Killed In San Diego Helicopter Crash

Correction: An earlier version of this story gave the wrong date for the crash. It has been corrected.

ANNANDALE, VA — An Annandale man was one of the five sailors killed in a helicopter crash following a flight operation off the coast of San Diego on Aug. 31.

Lt. Paul R. "Boo" Fridley, 28, of Annandale was part of the crew flying an MH-60S helicopter conducting a routine flight operation from USS Abraham Lincoln when the aircraft crashed into the sea roughly 60 nautical miles off the coast of San Diego at 4:30 p.m. on Aug. 31.

A 2015 graduate of the University of Virginia, Fridley is survived by his wife, Lt. Sarah Fuller Fridley. Both were part of UVA's Naval ROTC detachment and had served in the Navy following graduation, according to a UVA School of Nursing Facebook post.

The four other members of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 8 9(HSC-8) killed in the crash were identified as Lt. Bradley A. Foster, 29; 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.

The HSC-8 Spouse's Club launched separate GoFundMe campaigns on Monday to raise money for the five families of the sailors killed in the helicopter crash. As of 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, the campaign for Paul Fridley's family had raised more than $68,000 toward its goal of $100,000.

After spending three days scouring the sea for the sailors, officials pivoted to a recovery operation on Saturday. Service members spent more than 170 hours of flight time and mobilized crews by air and water to find the five missing sailors before declaring them dead.

"We are deeply saddened by the loss of five Sailors and those injured following the MH-60S helicopter tragedy off the coast of Southern California," Adm. Mike Gilday, chief of Navel Operations, tweeted. "We stand alongside their families, loved ones, and shipmates who grieve."

One sailor aboard the MH-60S Knighthawk was pulled from the ocean after the aircraft went down while its six-member crew engaged in routine flight operations off the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln, according to USN public affairs.

The rescued sailor and two others who were hurt in the accident while aboard the San Diego-based aircraft carrier were taken ashore for medical care in stable condition.

Another three personnel suffered minor injuries and remained on the ship, officials said.

A military investigation is underway into what caused the crash of the aircraft, which was assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 8 at Naval Air Station North Island. Navy officials said only that it "was operating on deck before crashing into the sea."

Patch editor Kat Schuster contributed to the reporting of this story.

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