Anne McMillin, a Navy spokeswoman at Fallon, said yesterday she did not know the nature of the emergency experienced aboard the helicopter. She could not confirm reports by a Reno television station that there was an in-flight fire on the SH-60F Seahawk.

Dewitt, who was married and had three children, had been in the Navy for 12 years. He initially was reported missing, but later was located in the wreckage and pronounced dead, officials said.  The helicopter was forced to make what was described as a ''hard landing'' at about 2 p.m. PST Thursday on Navy property about 40 miles northeast of Fallon, officials said.

''Upon impact, the nine guys jumped out. The aircraft started to burn, and the 10th man did not make it out,'' McMillin said. There were four crew members and six Navy SEALs on board.  The nine survivors suffered injuries ranging from cuts and bruises to rib and neck injuries, the Navy said.

A nursing supervisor at Churchill County Hospital in Fallon said seven people were treated and released there, and one was admitted and was in stable condition. Another person, one of two pilots, was transferred to a Reno hospital, where he was in satisfactory condition with a neck injury, officials said.

The FA-18 crash and the helicopter incident were unrelated, the Navy said. The cause of both accidents is under investigation.
Both aircraft were part of the carrier USS Enterprise's air wing, which is at Fallon preparing for a 6-month deployment later this year. The helicopter was practicing dropping off and picking up SEALs, the Navy's elite special operators.