A US fighter jet and a helicopter crashed into the South China Sea within 30 minutes of each other on Sunday.
The F/A-18F Super Hornet and MH-60R Seahawk helicopter, both based off the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, went down in separate incidents while “conducting routine operations”, said the US navy’s Pacific Fleet.
“All personnel involved are safe and in stable condition. The cause of both incidents is currently under investigation,” it said.
The Seahawk helicopter was the first to crash at around 2.45pm local time, and its three crew members were rescued, according to the statement.
Half an hour later, the two crew members of the Super Hornet ejected before the aircraft crashed. Both were also recovered safely.
The USS Nimitz is returning to its home port at Naval Base Kitsap in Washington state having been deployed to the Middle East for most of the summer as part of the US response to attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on commercial shipping.
The 50-year-old carrier, the US navy’s oldest in service, is on its final deployment before decommissioning.
Donald Trump described the two incidents as “very unusual”, speculating that they could have been caused by a fuel issue.
“They think it might be bad fuel,” the US president told reporters on Air Force One. “We’re gonna find out. Nothing to hide, sir.”
Another aircraft carrier, the USS Harry S Truman, has suffered a series of mishaps in recent months while deployed to the Middle East.
The US navy’s F/A-18F Super Hornet was on a ‘routine operation’ went it crashed – Reuters
In December, the guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg mistakenly shot down a Super Hornet jet from the Truman, while in April another of the $60 million jets fell off its hangar deck into the Red Sea.
And in May, an F/A fighter jet landing on the carrier went overboard after apparently failing to catch the steel cables used to stop landing planes, forcing its two pilots to eject.
No sailors were killed in any of those incidents. The results of investigations into the losses have yet to be released.
The crashes come as Mr Trump is on his first visit to Asia of his second term, while Pete Hegseth, the defence secretary, prepares to begin a multi-country Asian tour.
Mr Trump kicked off the tour in Malaysia on Sunday and arrived in Japan on Monday to meet the new prime minister, Sanae Takaichi.
The president is due to hold face-to-face talks with Xi Jinping on Thursday in South Korea, where he said he was hopeful of a deal to end a bruising trade war between the world’s two biggest economies.
He also indicated he was willing to extend his trip in order to meet North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un.
China’s foreign ministry said it would be willing to provide humanitarian assistance to the US after the loss of its two navy aircraft.
Washington regularly deploys warships to the contested South China Sea, one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, to counter Beijing’s growing presence there.
China claims nearly the entire area and has fortified outposts on disputed islands and built several artificial islands to expand its military foothold. Beijing has said it opposes US military presence in the region, saying it has a destabilising effect.
Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei also claim parts of the sea, leading to confrontations with Beijing.
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