“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 73 went down in the waters of the South China Sea while conducting routine operations from the aircraft carrier,” reads the statement. “Search and rescue assets assigned to Carrier Strike Group 11 safely recovered all three crew members.”
Roughly 30 minutes later, a second incident occurred involving a two-seat F/A-18F Super Hornet jet from the “Fighting Redcocks” of Strike Fighter Squadron 22. “Both crew members successfully ejected and were also safely recovered by search and rescue assets assigned to Carrier Strike Group 11,” the statement continued.
All five service members involved in the two crashes are reported to be safe and in stable condition. The U.S. Navy has launched investigations into the cause of both incidents.
The USS Nimitz is currently on the return leg of its final deployment before heading back to the West Coast. The carrier, along with its escorts and Carrier Air Wing 17, departed from the West Coast on 26 March and operated in the Middle East for much of the summer.
