Oops! Navy helo ‘rigging failure’ sends five missiles into the Pacific

[Tony]

Five Navy RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missiles have found a new home in the briny depths of the Pacific Ocean after a helicopter dropped them into the water during a vertical replenishment June 17, officials have confirmed.

A MH-60S Knighthawk helicopter assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 21 was carrying two containers full of missiles en route to the amphibious assault ship Essex when a rigging failure resulted in the missiles being dropped off the southern California coast, according to Naval Air Forces spokesman Ensign Bryan Blair.