H60 and FA18 crash in South China Sea 30 minutes apart

Expansion and analysis of the US Navy loss of two aircraft in the south china sea on Sunday, October 26, 2025. Approximately 30 minutes apart an MH-60R SeaHawk Helicopter, the Navy version of the Army BlackHawk, assigned to the Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM-73) Battlecats, from NAS North Island, and an F/A-18F Super Hornet, assigned to the Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA-22) Fighting Red Cocks, from Lemoore, CA, both squadrons are with Strike Group 11 and were currently deployed aboard the USS Nimitz (CVN-68), crashed into the South China Sea during routine operations. All five crew personnel were recovered safely and are in stable health. Follow @airrescuevet on all social media platforms. Find links at https://linktr.ee/airrescuevet Sources: TWZ https://www.twz.com/sea/bad-fuel-may-have-caused-back-to-back-nimitz-aircraft-crashes-trump USNI News https://news.usni.org/2025/10/26/super-hornet-helicopter-assigned-to-uss-nimitz-crash-in-south-china-sea-in-separate-incidents-crew-safe?fbclid=IwY2xjawNs6UZleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETB1OWVZOUJjbzZ3blVRa3B4AR52iNsfG_KJkujx94C9nM8SicvFVvU8sKOb2ba7CiUoNQExVINCFxqcLQpWiQ_aem_nL-Z2giFzrm3f8DZIjgBow#mc4wp-form-1 KPBS San Diego https://www.kpbs.org/news/international/2025/10/27/san-diego-based-navy-helicopter-one-of-two-uss-nimitz-aircraft-lost-in-separate-crashes ABC News https://abcnews.go.com/International/navy-helicopter-fighter-jet-south-china-sea-navy/story?id=126884335