Two U.S. Navy aircraft, specifically a Sea Hawk helicopter and an F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet, both operating from the USS Nimitz, crashed on Sunday during separate “routine operations” over the South China Sea. All five crew members were successfully rescued and are reported to be in stable condition, as the Navy initiates investigations into both occurrences.

The U.S. Pacific Fleet, which serves as the Navy’s most expansive operational command, communicated via a post on X that an MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter, affiliated with Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 73’s “Battle Cats,” went down in the South China Sea around 2:54 p.m. local time. This incident took place while the helicopter was engaged in routine missions launched from the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68).

Search-and-rescue teams, operating in collaboration with the Nimitz, promptly commenced recovery efforts and safely extracted all three helicopter crew members from the water.

According to officials, the personnel were brought back to the carrier for medical assessments and were subsequently confirmed to be in stable health.

Approximately 30 minutes following the helicopter incident, an F/A-18F Super Hornet from the Nimitz, assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron 22’s “Fighting Redcocks,” also crashed into the South China Sea during flight operations.

Again, search-and-rescue teams responded rapidly, retrieving the jet’s two crew members, who had successfully ejected before the aircraft impacted the water. Both aviators were transported back to the Nimitz and are likewise reported to be in stable condition.

A statement from the U.S. Pacific Fleet affirmed that all five service members involved in the crashes are safe and accounted for.

The underlying causes of both incidents remain under investigation, and the Navy has not yet disclosed further specifics regarding weather conditions, potential mechanical malfunctions, or the precise nature of the training missions being conducted at the time of the crashes.

While investigators work to ascertain what led to the two mishaps, operations aboard the USS Nimitz have continued uninterrupted as the carrier maintains its deployment in the Indo-Pacific region.

The Nimitz, which holds the distinction of being the Navy’s oldest active aircraft carrier, functions as the central component of Carrier Strike Group 11. This group regularly conducts freedom-of-navigation and maritime security operations in the South China Sea, waters that have become increasingly contested amidst growing tensions between the U.S. and China.

These incidents transpire as the Nimitz embarks on its final deployment, concluding more than 50 years of service since its commissioning in 1975. The carrier’s operational history includes its involvement in Operation Eagle Claw, the unsuccessful 1980 mission aimed at rescuing American hostages in Tehran.

The crashes also occurred during President Donald Trump’s visit to Asia. The president spent Sunday night in Malaysia, a country situated along the southern border of the South China Sea, and was scheduled to depart for Japan on Monday.