Two U.S. Navy aircraft — an MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter and an F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter — crashed in separate incidents Sunday while operating off of the USS Nimitz in the South China Sea, according to the U.S. Pacific Fleet. Oddly, both accidents occurred about 30 minutes apart during routine flight ops—all U.S. personnel were safely recovered—back on board in stable condition.
.
The MH-60R Sea Hawk, assigned to the “Battle Cats” of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 73, went down around 2:45 p.m. local time. Per reports, the crew of three was swiftly rescued. Roughly half an hour later, an F/A-18F Super Hornet from the “Fighting Redcocks” of Strike Fighter Squadron 22 crashed at 3:15 p.m....both naval aviators ejected safely.
.
As usual, the cause of both crashes will be investigated...likely with a bit more scrutiny as this is the 4th loss of a Hornet in the past 12 months (1 by friendly fire over the Red Sea, 2 in separate ‘deck incidents’ aboard the USS Truman)...and the Sea H...
Suggested Credits
Tags, Events, and Projects