An F/A-18E Super Hornet makes an arrested landing on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz in the South China Sea, June 5, 2025. The Navy said it has recovered the two aircraft that fell off the USS Nimitz into the South China Sea in October. (Matthew Wolf/U.S. Navy)
The U.S. Navy has successfully recovered the two aircraft that crashed into the South China Sea earlier this year while operating off the USS Nimitz, the service said Monday.
A Navy MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter assigned to the “Battle Cats” of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 73 went down in Oct. 26 while conducting routine operations. A half hour later, an F/A-18F Super Hornet assigned to the “Fighting Redcocks” of Strike Fighter Squadron 22 also went down.
All five crew members from the two separate crashes survived.
Recovery crews were able to locate and retrieve both aircraft from a depth of approximately 400 feet in the South China Sea last week, the Navy said in a statement.
The recovery effort was led by Lt. Cmdr. Christopher Andersen of the Navy’s Task Force 73, with the help of Task Force 75, the Naval Sea Systems Command’s Supervisor of Salvage and Diving, and CTG 73.6’s Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit.
“Everyone involved brought critical expertise ensuring we could safely and successfully bring these aircraft back under U.S. custody,” Andersen said in the statement. “This operation highlights the importance of naval integration, readiness, and the unmatched capability of our salvage and diving teams.”
The Nimitz, the flagship of Carrier Strike Group 11, is scheduled to pull into its homeport at Naval Base Kitsap in Bremerton, Wash., this month after a nine-month deployment in the Indo-Pacific region and the Arabian Sea.
First deployed in 1976, the Nimitz is the Navy’s oldest aircraft carrier and is scheduled to be decommissioned starting next year. The carrier is expected to arrive at Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia by May to begin the process of decommissioning and deactivating the ship, with completion planned for 2027.
All of the recovered aircraft components are being transported to a designated U.S. military installation in the Indo-Pacific region for detailed analysis, the Navy said. The incidents remain under investigation.
