Two U.S. Navy aircraft from the USS Nimitz — a Sea Hawk helicopter and an F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet — crashed over the South China Sea during separate “routine operations” on Sunday, with all five crew members rescued and in stable condition as the Navy investigates both incidents.
The US Pacific Fleet – the Navy’s largest operational command – said in a post on (CVN 68).
Search and rescue teams from Carrier Strike Group 11, operating alongside the Nimitz, quickly launched recovery efforts and safely recovered all three helicopter crew members from the water.
Officials said the crew was returned to the carrier for medical evaluation and was later confirmed to be in stable condition.
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About 30 minutes after the helicopter incident, a Nimitz F/A-18F Super Hornet assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron 22’s “Fighting Redcocks” also crashed in the South China Sea during flight operations.
Search and rescue teams again responded quickly and recovered the aircraft’s two crew members, who successfully ejected before the aircraft hit the water. Both pilots were transported back to the Nimitz and are reported to be in stable condition.
The U.S. Pacific Fleet said in a statement that all five service members involved in the crashes are safe and accounted for.
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In this handout photo provided by the Navy Visual News Service, the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) departs at sea after a port visit to Naples, Italy, Oct. 21, 2006. (Miguel Angel Contreras/U.S. Navy via Getty Images)
The causes of both incidents remain under investigation and the Navy has not released any additional details about weather conditions, possible mechanical problems or the nature of the training missions being conducted at the time of the crashes.
As investigators try to determine what led to the two accidents, operations have continued aboard the USS Nimitz as the aircraft carrier continues to deploy to the Indo-Pacific region.
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An MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter lands aboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz in the South China Sea on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2023, as Nimitz of the U.S. 7th Fleet conducted operations. The Japan-based 7th Fleet said Sunday that the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier strike group and the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit conducted “integrated expeditionary strike operations” in the South China Sea. (Mass Communications Specialist 2nd Class Justin McTaggart/US Navy via AP)
The Nimitz — the Navy’s oldest active aircraft carrier — serves as the centerpiece of Carrier Strike Group 11, which routinely conducts freedom of navigation and maritime security operations in the South China Sea, waters that have become increasingly contentious amid rising tensions between the U.S. and China.
The incidents come as the Nimitz makes its final deployment, capping off more than fifty years of service since its commissioning in 1975. The aircraft carrier was previously involved in Operation Eagle Claw, the failed 1980 mission to rescue American hostages in Tehran.
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The crashes also coincided with President Donald Trump’s visit to Asia. The president spent Sunday night in Malaysia, located on the southern edge of the South China Sea, and was scheduled to leave for Japan on Monday.
