Journalism of Courage
The US Navy on Monday said the USS Nimitz is heading home after the aircraft carrier lost a fighter jet and a helicopter, both of which crashed into the South China Sea within 30 minutes of each other. According to the Navy’s Pacific Fleet, Nimitz is returning to Naval Base Kitsap in Washington state after being deployed to the Middle East in response to attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on commercial shipping.
Commissioned in 1975, and named after World War II Pacific fleet commander Chester W Nimitz, USS Nimitz is the flagship of Carrier Strike Group Eleven (CSG-11). The carrier is on its final deployment before decommissioning.
Earlier, three crew members of the MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter were rescued on Sunday afternoon, and the two aviators in the F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter jet ejected and were recovered safely, and all five “are safe and in stable condition,” the fleet said in a statement.
The causes of the two crashes were under investigation, the statement said.
An individual F/A-18 fighter jet costs more than $60 million, according to the Navy.
President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Tokyo on Monday, said the incidents could have been caused by “bad fuel.” He ruled out foul play and said there was “nothing to hide.”
This is the second major mishap involving a US Navy aircraft carrier in recent months.
In April, two F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jets fell off the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier into the Red Sea in a span of one week.
