US Navy Sea Hawk helicopter, F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter jet go down in separate South China Sea incidents

Two U.S. Navy aircraft from the USS Nimitz — a Sea Hawk helicopter and an F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet — crashed during separate "routine operations" over the South China Sea on Sunday, with all five crew members rescued and in stable condition as the Navy investigates both incidents.

The U.S. Pacific Fleet — the Navy’s largest operational command — said in a post on X that around 2:54 p.m. local time, an MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter assigned to the "Battle Cats" of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 73 crashed in the South China Sea while conducting routine operations from the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68).

Search-and-rescue teams from Carrier Strike Group 11, operating alongside the Nimitz, quickly launched recovery efforts and safely pulled all three helicopter crew members from the water.

Officials said the personnel were returned to the carrier for medical evaluation and were later confirmed to be in stable condition.

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Roughly 30 minutes after the helicopter incident, an F/A-18F Super Hornet from the Nimitz, assigned to the "Fighting Redcocks" of Strike Fighter Squadron 22, also went down in the South China Sea during flight operations.

Search-and-rescue teams again responded swiftly, recovering the jet’s two crew members, who had successfully ejected before the aircraft hit the water. Both aviators 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) gets underway, following a port visit to Naples, Italy October 21, 2006, at sea.  (Miguel Angel Contreras/U.S. Navy via Getty Images)

The causes of both incidents remain under investigation, and the Navy has not released additional details about weather conditions, possible mechanical issues, or the nature of the training missions being conducted at the time of the crashes.

While investigators work to determine what led to the two mishaps, operations aboard the USS Nimitz have continued as the carrier remains deployed in 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, Sunday, Feb. 12, 2023, as Nimitz in U.S. 7th Fleet was conducting operations. The 7th Fleet based in Japan said Sunday that the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier strike group and the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit have been conducting "integrated expeditionary strike force operations" in the South China Sea. (Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Justin McTaggart/U.S. Navy via AP)

The Nimitz—the Navy’s oldest active aircraft carrier—is serving 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 contested amid rising tensions between the U.S. and China.

The incidents come as the Nimitz undertakes its final deployment, capping more than 50 years of service since its commissioning in 1975. The 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 along the southern edge of the South China Sea, and he was expected to depart for Japan on Monday.