Five U.S. Navy crew members were rescued on Sunday after an MH-60R Seahawk helicopter and an F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter jet went down in two separate incidents over the South China Sea. Both aircraft were conducting routine operations from the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) when they went down about 30 minutes apart.
The Sea Hawk, part of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 73, went down at around 2:45 p.m. local time, the fleet said in a post on X, formerly Twitter. All three crew members were safely recovered by search and rescue assets assigned to Carrier Strike Group 11.
About 30 minutes later, at 3:15 p.m., an F/A-18F Super Hornet assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 22 also went down while operating from the Nimitz, the Pacific Fleet said. Both crew members “successfully ejected and were also safely recovered,” according to the Navy’s statement.
South China Sea – On October 26, 2025 at approximately 2:45 p.m. local time, a U.S. Navy MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter, assigned to the “Battle Cats” of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 73 went down in the waters of the South China Sea while conducting routine operations
— U.S. Pacific Fleet (@USPacificFleet) October 26, 2025
of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 22 also went down in the waters of the South China Sea while conducting routine operations from Nimitz. Both crew members successfully ejected and were also safely recovered by search and rescue assets assigned to Carrier Strike Group 11.
— U.S. Pacific Fleet (@USPacificFleet) October 26, 2025
The aircraft were based out of Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego and Naval Air Station Lemoore in California’s Central Valley, respectively.
“All personnel involved are safe and in stable condition,” the Pacific Fleet said, noting that the cause of both incidents remains under investigation.
The Nimitz is currently deployed in the Pacific conducting operational exercises. The events occurred as President Donald Trump continues a multi-nation visit to Asia, including stops in Malaysia, Japan and South Korea, according to NBC News.
The Navy did not immediately release additional details regarding the circumstances of either mishap.
President Donald Trump suggested during a conversation with reporters aboard Air Force One that he suspects the accidents stemmed from “bad fuel.”
“They’re going to let me know pretty soon,” Trump said. “I think they should be able to find out. It could be bad fuel. I mean, it’s possible it’s bad fuel. Very unusual that that would happen.”
When pressed by reporters, Trump ruled out suspicions of foul play.
YGBSM. He can’t be serious.
Bad Fuel would have affected all flights. One must immediately consider that China figured out how to use electronic warfare to bring down such different vehicles.
What is this like the fourth F-18 to go down in the Pacific in the past year or so? At least this one didn’t fall off the carrier like two of them did.