In tragic news for the U.S., a fighter jet and military chopper crashed in the South China Sea.
Both the jet and the chopper belonged to the U.S. Navy and crashed in separate incidents.
Both aircraft were conducting “routing operations” before they crashed, according to the Daily Mail.
The U.S. Pacific Fleet released a statement on X indicating that the MH-60R Sea Hawk Helicopter crashed in the waters of the South China Sea around 2:45 p.m. local time.
The helicopter and the F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter jet were both part of the USS Nimitz carrier.
“South China Sea – On October 26, 2025 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 (HSM) 73 went down in the waters of the South China Sea while conducting routine operations from the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68). Search and rescue assets assigned to Carrier Strike Group 11 safely recovered all three crew members,” the statement read.
“Following the incident, separately, at 3:15 p.m., an F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter assigned to the ‘Fighting Redcocks’ of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 22 also went down in the waters of the South China Sea while conducting routine operations from Nimitz. Both crew members successfully ejected and were also safely recovered by search and rescue assets assigned to Carrier Strike Group 11,” it continued.
Thankfully, those involved in the crash are safe and remain in stable condition, according to the Pacific Fleet.
The cause of both crasshes are currently unknown.
The latest crash comes months after the deadly aircraft crash over the Potomac River in Washington, D.C.
In January, an American Airlines flight tragically collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter, resulting in 67 deaths. This marked the first major aircraft crash in the U.S. since the tragedy of Colgan Air Flight 3407 in 2009.
Just recently, in September, the first lawsuit tied to the Potomac incident was filed by the familes of the victims, as ABC News reported.
At a news conference, an attorney representing the families, said the crash was “entirely preventable.”
“The crash of American Eagle 5342 was predictable, it was preventable and caused the needless loss of 67 lives on that fateful evening,” attorney Bob Clifford said. “Knowing that there was massive congestion and these number of near-misses, we turned to the FAA and their responsibility to properly provide air traffic control that was not fully provided and properly provided on that evening,”
