Sikorsky MH-53E Sea Dragon crash near Bahrain International Airport, Bahrain

From a vertical takeoff the helicopter was transitioning to forward flight after power checks when it suffered an engine failure and crashed. Media reports of injuries were inaccurate; one crew member was later found to have a congenital back defect that was aggravated by twisting in his seat at impact. An engineering investigation traced the cause to a leak in a pressurised fuel line to the number 3 engine, which had ruptured through chafing against an adjacent steel braided oil line routed improperly when the engine was last replaced at Fleet Readiness Center East, MCAS Cherry Point, four years earlier. Six of the twelve fuel nozzles lost pressure and the engine flamed out at near maximum gross weight, causing a rapid loss of rotor speed. The remaining two engines automatically max performed to take up the load, and under that stress the number 2 engine gimbal assembly exploded, starting a fire that cut through the left side of the fuselage. Ground crew from a visiting VRC squadron witnessed the explosion and fire in flight. The damage that made the helicopter unflyable occurred entirely in flight rather than at ground impact, and the aircraft struck the ground on the number 1 engine alone. The automatic fire suppression system 10G triggers had activated, indicating an impact of more than 10G.