Prepping for launch

Aboard USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) at sea – A Sailor with Helicopter Squadron 14 goes through a preflight check of an SH-60F “Seahawk” helicopter before the pilots take off from USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63). The Seahawks are the first aircraft to take off and the last to land. They provide constant vigil to Kitty Hawk and Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5 during flight ops in case an aviator or Hawk Sailor should fall in the ocean.