The Navy has launched an investigation into the cause of both incidents that occurred over strategic waters seen as a potential flashpoint for global conflict.
President Donald Trump called the back-to-back crashes “very unusual” and raised the possibility of a fuel problem while speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, en route from Malaysia to Japan on Monday.
The Navy said on social media that a MH-60R Seahawk helicopter went down around 2:45 p.m. local time “while conducting routine operations from the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz.” Search-and-rescue crews rescued three crew members, the Navy said.
About 30 minutes later, an F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter also crashed while conducting routine operations from Nimitz. Both crew members ejected and were safely recovered, the Navy said.
The F/A-18 is at least the fourth of the $60 million fighter jets the Navy has lost this year.
Bracketed by China and several Southeast Asian nations, parts of the vital South China Sea are claimed by multiple governments, but Beijing asserts ownership over almost all of the strategic waterway, in defiance of an international court ruling.
Source: https://edition.cnn.com
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