Navy salvage experts recovered from the sea floor yesterday the flight suit and personal possessions of a Coast Guard pilot who died in the Sept. 4 helicopter crash that killed three other crew members.

A robotic submersible device was used in the salvage effort, which also reclaimed the rotor head, gearbox, main drive shaft and other parts of the downed HH-65 Dolphin helicopter from a depth of 1,600 feet.

Coast Guard Lt. John Titchen said the underwater search recovered “;essentially the remains”; of Cmdr. Thomas Nelson, 42, of Staten Island, N.Y. The spokesman would not describe whether the body was found.

“;We are extremely grateful to have this closure,”; said Rear Adm. Manson Brown, 14th Coast Guard District commander, in a release. “;It was very important for Cmdr. Nelson's family, for his fellow airmen at Air Station Barbers Point and for the rest of us in the Coast Guard.”; He said services will be held.

The salvage effort by Coast Guard and Navy crew is now complete. The helicopter parts will be transferred to the Coast Guard Aircraft Repair and Supply Center in Elizabeth City, N.C., where two investigation teams are working to determine the cause of the crash.

The helicopter went down while participating in a rescue drill with a 47-foot vessel five miles south of Honolulu.

The bodies of Lt. Cmdr. Andrew Wischmeier, 44; Petty Officer 1st Class David Skimin, 38; and Petty Officer 2nd Class Joshua Nichols, 27, were recovered at the scene.