Katherine Biek
US Military Ends Search For 3 Missing Marines After Aircraft 'Mishap'
The Marine Corps says 23 others who were aboard the aircraft have been rescued following a "mishap" off the coast of Australia.
LEARN MOREPosted: 1:49 p.m. EDT Aug 24, 2017
The U.S. Navy suspended its search-and-rescue mission Thursday for the 10 sailors who were reported missing after the USS John S. McCain collided with an oil and chemical tanker earlier this week.
Officials confirmed one of the sailors — Petty Officer 3rd Class Kenneth Aaron Smith — was killed. His remains were found inside the McCain.
The other sailors are still missing. Although divers are no longer searching the surrounding waters where the collision happened, they are still combing through the flooded areas of the guided-missile destroyer.
According to the Navy, the nine missing sailors are Petty Officers 1st Class Charles Nathan Findley and Abraham Lopez; Petty Officers 2nd Class Kevin Sayer Bushell, Jacob Daniel Drake, Timothy Thomas Eckels Jr. and Corey George Ingram; and Petty Officers 3rd Class Dustin Louis Doyon, John Henry Hoagland III and Logan Stephen Palmer.
The Malaysian navy found a body at sea earlier this week, but it was not one of the missing sailors.
Shortly after the McCain collision, the Navy ordered all ships briefly halt operations to review safety and training protocols.
That "operational pause" is reportedly being arranged so all fleets aren't out of commission at the same time.
On Wednesday, the Navy dismissed its commander of the U.S. 7th Fleet. As commander, Vice Adm. Joseph Aucoin oversaw all four of the ships — including the McCain — that have been involved in accidents in the Pacific this year.
The Navy has not released an official explanation for the McCain crash. But a Navy official told CNN the ship "suffered a steering failure" prior to the collision.
