Posted on 10/26/2025 5:38:23 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
The U.S. Pacific Fleet said both crashes are under investigation.
Two U.S. Navy aircraft operating from the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz were involved in separate crashes over the South China Sea on Sunday.
All five crew members aboard the aircraft were rescued and are safe as the Navy launches an investigation into both incidents.
According to a statement from the U.S. Pacific Fleet, the first accident occurred around 2:54 p.m. local time when an MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter, assigned to the “Battle Cats” of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 73, went down while conducting standard flight operations from the Nimitz (CVN 68).
Search-and-rescue teams from Carrier Strike Group 11, which operates alongside the Nimitz, responded immediately and saved all three crew members from the water.
The Navy has not released additional details about the second crash, which involved an F/A-18 Super Hornet, but confirmed that both incidents occurred during unrelated missions and that all personnel involved are safe.
The U.S. Pacific Fleet said the circumstances surrounding the crashes are under investigation.
(Excerpt) Read more at justthenews.com ...
Aviation Ping!....................
Thank goodness all are safe.
These things happen in operations.
Seems odd for two to ‘happen’ in the same operation...
Martin Baker ejection seats have saved many pilots lives over the years. Thank you Martin Baker.
Strange things do happen.
I was on the USS JFK in 1976 in the North Atlantic about 500 miles off Scotland when we had a new F-14 Tomcat carrying a Phoenix missile go over the side and were treading near to an incident with the Soviets who had a cruiser in the area and saw exactly where it went into the ocean. (They wanted to get their hands on that revolutionary missile, and were prepared to drag the ocean to get it...and nearly did)
Then that very evening, we had a collision while refueling a destroyer, putting it out of action.
Two unlikely things, happening within a 12 hour period. I was on the flight deck for both of those incidents!
Very odd. So those things do happen.
That’s a piss-poorly written headline because it gives the impression the two mishaps were related, when it could have clarified that they were separate.
But it probably gets substantially more ‘clicks’ if everybody thinks the two a/c had a mid-air.
Turns out they may well be related.
https://www.twz.com/sea/bad-fuel-may-have-caused-back-to-back-nimitz-aircraft-crashes-trump
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