Two U.S. Navy aircraft from the USS Nimitz—a Seahawk helicopter and an F/A-18 Super Hornet—crashed on Sunday over the South China Sea during separate routine operations. Fortunately, all five crew members were rescued and are reported to be in stable condition while investigations are underway.
The U.S. Pacific Fleet, the Navy’s largest operational command, shared on social media that around 2:54 p.m. local time, an MH-60R Seahawk helicopter, part of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 73’s “Battle Cats,” crashed while performing routine tasks from the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68).
A search and rescue team from Carrier Strike Group 11, working alongside the Nimitz, swiftly initiated recovery efforts, successfully retrieving all three helicopter crew members from the water.
Officials stated that the crew was transferred back to their transport ship for medical evaluations and, thankfully, were later found to be stable.
About 30 minutes later, another incident occurred when a Nimitz F/A-18F Super Hornet, from the 22nd Strike Fighter Squadron’s Fighting Redcocks, also crashed in the South China Sea during flight.
Rescue teams responded promptly again and managed to recover the plane’s two crew members, who had exited the aircraft before it hit the water. They, too, were transported back to the Nimitz and are reported to be in stable condition.
The U.S. Pacific Fleet confirmed in a statement that all five service members involved in the crashes are safe.
The causes of both incidents are still under investigation. The Navy has not released more information regarding the weather conditions, potential mechanical issues, or the details of the training mission during the crashes.
The USS Nimitz, the Navy’s oldest active-duty aircraft carrier, is currently deployed in the Indo-Pacific region as part of Carrier Strike Group 11. It routinely engages in freedom of navigation and maritime security operations in the South China Sea, an area of heightened tensions between the United States and China.
