Funeral for 3 Navy aviators to be held Sunday
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Kim Kyung-min
Park U-shin
Hwang Sung-cheol
By Jun Ji-hye
The Navy will hold funeral services at a military hospital in Gyeonggi Province, Sunday, for the three sailors who were killed in a helicopter crash last week.
The three aviators killed were Lieutenant Commanders Kim Kyung-min, 33, and Park U-shin, 33, and Senior Chief Petty Officer Hwang Sung-cheol, 29. They were promoted by one rank posthumously.
They were aboard a Lynx anti-submarine helicopter that crashed into the sea off the nation’s east coast during a joint naval exercise with the United States, Monday.
The Navy recovered their bodies from 1,030 meters below the sea on Tuesday and Wednesday, during search operations conducted with a remotely operated underwater vehicle.
Kim, a native of Jinan, North Jeolla Province, the pilot of the ill-fated chopper, was commissioned as an ensign in December 2010, and served as a Navy combat helicopter pilot. He received a citation from the chief of naval operations in 2015 in recognition for his outstanding shooting skills.
Park, a native of Uiseong, North Gyeongsang Province, co-pilot, was commissioned as an ensign in December 2011, and served with operations units. He participated in search and rescue operations for the Sewol ferry sinking, in which more than 300 people perished in April 2014.
Hwang, a native of Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province, joined the Navy in 2008 as a noncommissioned officer. Hwang, who specialized in the maintenance of aircraft, was serving as the flight operator in charge of operating dipping sonar and arms equipment of the helicopter. He previously served with the nation’s anti-piracy troops, the Cheonghae Unit, stationed in the Gulf of Aden in the Arabian Sea off Somalia in 2011.
The Navy said the three aviators had a strong sense of responsibility and were well-trusted by their colleagues.
It added that Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Um Hyun-seong will preside over the funeral service for the men.