US Navy Sea Hawk helicopter, F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter jet go down in separate South China Sea incidents
Sea Hawk helicopter and F/A-18 Super Hornet go down during routine operations, all crew rescued
By Greg Wehner , Lucas Y. Tomlinson Fox News
Published October 26, 2025 7:42pm EDT | Updated October 26, 2025 8:04pm EDT
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.
https://twitter.com/USPacificFleet/status/1982583083519140329more
https://www.foxnews.com/world/us-navy-sea-hawk-helicopter-f-a-18f-super-hornet-fighter-jet-go-down-separate-south-china-sea-incidents
