THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, February 16, 1996 TAG: 9602160497
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A13 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STAFF AND WIRE REPORT
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Short : 36 lines
The Navy searched Thursday for a sailor reported overboard from the Norfolk-based aircraft carrier America, which is en route home from a six-month deployment to the Mediterranean.
It was the second such incident during its deployment.
The America was being resupplied by helicopter on a windy, sunny morning while sailing alongside the ammunition ship Butte, which is based in Earle, N.J. About 10 a.m. (5 a.m. EST) a lookout on the rear of the carrier saw the sailor in 10- to 12-foot seas, 2nd Fleet spokesman Cmdr. Paul Weishaupt said.
Helicopters began an immediate search and were joined by the Butte and two Norfolk-based ships: the guided-missile cruiser Normandy and the South Carolina, a nuclear-powered guided-missile cruiser.
The sailor's name was withheld until family members are notified.
The America, scheduled for decommissioning this year, is nearing the end of its six-month cruise; it had already been been relieved of its Mediterranean responsibilities by the George Washington.
On Nov. 25, another America crew member fell off the ship. The carrier was nearly three months into its current deployment when Lance Cpl. Zachary R. Mayo fell off the stern of the carrier.
Mayo remained afloat 36 hours before being plucked out of the Arabian Sea by Pakistani fishermen. MEMO: This story was compiled from reports by The Newport News Daily Press,
The Associated Press and The Virginian-Pilot. by CNB