A U.S. Navy EA-18G Growler assigned to Electronic Attack Squadron 130 takes part in Red Flag drills in Alaska in 2022. (Ryan Lackey/U.S. Air Force)
The Navy and Marine Corps recorded 122 major mishaps during Fiscal Year 2025, with 98 service members killed in incidents ranging from a jet crash on Mount Rainier in Washington, to off-duty motorcycle accidents, to physical training incidents, the Department of the Navy reported this week.
The “close-out” totals covered “Class A” mishaps, which include incidents involving fatalities, permanent injuries, aircraft crashes or property damage exceeding $2.5 million. The statistics do not cover suicides, drug use or illnesses. The 2025 fiscal year ran from Oct. 1, 2024, to Sept. 30, 2025.
The totals were released without any explanation of causes of rising or falling totals across categories.
Off-duty motorcycle crashes accounted for the largest number of fatalities, with the Navy recording 30 fatalities and the Marine Corps 15.
The Navy motorcycle fatality total was the highest in the past decade, despite a Department of the Navy rider safety program and increased regulations and limits on motorcycle use on base.
Off-duty automobile and light truck crashes were the second-highest reason for fatalities; the Navy posted 13 fatalities in four-wheel vehicles, and the Marines had 10 deaths.
One Marine and three sailors were killed when struck by motor vehicles while walking.
The 46 Navy deaths from vehicle mishaps were the highest in the past decade and nearly twice the low of 24 fatalities recorded in 2015 and 2020.
The Marines reported two on-duty vehicle mishaps, resulting in three deaths. No Navy personnel were injured in on-duty vehicle incidents.
The Navy reported 14 aviation mishaps: 12 in the air and 2 on the ground — the highest annual count in the past decade. The crash of an EA-18 Growler on Mount Rainier in Washington on Oct. 15, 2024, killed both crew members. All the other crashes resulted in either minor or no injuries.
Though the Navy statistics did not include extensive information on each incident, the Navy total included a Dec. 22, 2024, incident of “friendly fire” in which the crew of an F/A-18F Hornet had to eject. News reports placed the incident in the Middle East.
The Marines reported six helicopter mishaps, three occurring in the air and three on the ground. No fatalities were reported.
The Navy reported eight “shore mishaps,” which included three training fatalities involving equipment, and three deaths during physical training. The Marines reported three fatal “ground mishaps,” all involving deaths during physical training or command-directed hikes.
Seven sailors and five Marines died in off-duty recreational incidents. The Navy incidents included a sailor who died from what officials believe was “over-consumption of alcohol,” ocean drownings in Maui and Guam, and crashes of an ATV and an electric bicycle. Marine recreational incidents included fatal drownings in the Philippines and Texas, and a fall on Mount Furano in Japan.
The Navy reported five “afloat mishaps” — including a multicompartment fire that caused minor injuries to two sailors, a collision with no injuries, and two undisclosed equipment mishaps. All of the at-sea incidents were officially classified as “location withheld — OPSEC,” which stands for Operational Security.
