1 dead after Navy helicopter crashes near Virginia coast One crewman has died, the Navy says, after one of its helicopters crashed during a training mission off the coast of Virginia Wednesday. The Navy confirmed in a statement that an MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopter had gone into the waters off Virginia Beach near Fort Story. One of the crew members died in the crash, while four others were rescued and transported to a local hospital. The extent of their injuries and the identities were not known, the Navy said. The accident is under investigation. Navy Spokesman Cmdr. Mike Kafka told the Virginian-Pilot that two MH-53 Sea Dragons were flying on a training mission when one of them had to make an emergency landing. The second Sea Dragon dropped a raft into the water to help the crew members, while the Coast Guard cutter Shearwater and two MH-60S helicopters also assisted in the recovery. The MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopter is nearly 100 feet in length and can travel at speeds of up to 172 mph, according to a description on the Navy's website. Its primary use is to transfer heavy equipment. The Navy had planned to start phasing out the MH-53E Sea Dragon model in the mid-2000s, but kept them flying since they didn't have a viable replacement, the Virginian-Pilot reports. Instead, the Navy invested millions to upgrade and better maintain the aircraft, as well as to hire additional maintenance personnel. Twenty-nine of the helicopters still remain in service and are assigned to two Norfolk-based squadrons. The crash comes a day after a fatal U.S. Air Force helicopter accident on the other side of the Atlantic. On Tuesday, four crewmen were killed when their HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter went down during a training mission in the Cley coastal area of Norfolk County in England. Fox News' Justin Fishel contributed to this report.