Navy officials did not disclose how the wreckage may be recovered. Last winter, after a Navy MH-60R Sea Hawk crashed into the bay, the helicopter was lifted from 15 feet of water and stabilized on a barge. It was then offloaded onto a pier at Naval Base Coronado. The operation took 10 hours.

The two Navy pilots ejected from the plane, which crashed in the San Diego Harbor shortly after 10 a.m. local time.