A Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet from the “Fighting Redcocks” of Strike Fighter Squadron 22 flies over the U.S Central Command area of responsibility during Operation Inherent Resolve Oct. 2, 2020. (Justin Parsons/U.S. Air Force)
All five crew members survived separate crashes Sunday of a Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter and an MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter in the South China Sea, according to the U.S. Pacific Fleet.
Both aircraft were operating from the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, according to the fleet.
“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,” the fleet posted Monday on X. “Search and rescue assets assigned to Carrier Strike Group 11 safely recovered all three crew members. “
U.S. Navy sailors move in to prepare an MH-60 Sea Hawk helicopter assigned to Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 73 for takeoff from the USS Bunker Hill in the Pacific on Oct. 1, 2022. (Jordan Jennings/U.S. Navy)
A half-hour later, an F/A-18F Super Hornet assigned to the ‘Fighting Redcocks’ of Strike Fighter Squadron 22 also went down in the South China Sea during routine operations from the Nimitz, the fleet posted.
“Both crew members successfully ejected and were also safely recovered by search and rescue assets assigned to Carrier Strike Group 11,” the post said.
The Nimitz, which deployed for the first time in 1976, is on its final mission.
It departed its homeport in Bremerton, Wash., in March for the Indo-Pacific and the U.S. 7th Fleet. However, the carrier strike group was redirected to the Middle East in mid-June as tensions rose between Israel and Iran.
The ship entered the South China Sea on Oct. 17, USNI News reported at the time.
The Nimitz is scheduled to begin deactivation next year, with completion expected in 2027. Its service life was lengthened amid delays in production of Ford-class carriers, which will replace the Nimitz class.
As part of its deactivation, the Nimitz and its crew are scheduled to shift their homeport to Norfolk, Va., by April 2026. Of the new class, only USS Gerald R. Ford is in service, having deployed in 2022 following its commissioning in 2017. The second Ford-class carrier, the future USS John F. Kennedy, is slated for delivery in 2027, according to Navy budget documents.
