US Navy identifies possible cause of two separate crashes in South China Sea, Trump says
President Donald Trump says the U.S. does not suspect foul play in the two separate crashes of U.S. Navy Aircraft in the South China Sea this weekend.Trump made the statement...
By Fox News · Fox News
President Donald Trump says the U.S. does not suspect foul play in the two separate crashes of U.S. Navy Aircraft in the South China Sea this weekend. Trump made the statement during a gaggle with reporters aboard Air Force One, saying he expected to get answers regarding the crashes soon. One possibility he'd been given was that the planes had faulty fuel, the president said. "You've been briefed on the incident, on the Nimitz, both a fighter jet and a helicopter?" a reporter asked. "I've heard about it, yeah," Trump responded. NTSB LAUNCHES 3-DAY INVESTIGATIVE HEARING ON DEADLY DC PLANE CRASH "Do you know what happened there? What was that?" the reporter asked. "They're going to let me know pretty soon. I think they should be able to find out. It could be bad fuel . I mean, it's possible it's bad fuel. Very unusual that that would happen," Trump said. NAVY CALLS OFF SEARCH FOR MISSING SAILOR ASSIGNED TO USS GEORGE WASHINGTON NEAR AUSTRALIA "You don't think it was foul play or anything?" the reporter pressed. "No, I don't," Trump replied. "They think it might be bad fuel." Two U.S. Navy aircraft from the USS Nimitz — a Sea Hawk helicopter and an F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet — crashed during separate "routine operations" over the South China Sea on Sunday. All five crew members aboard the two craft were rescued and remain in stable condition, according to the Navy. The U.S. Pacific Fleet — the Navy’s largest operational command — said in a post on X that around 2:54 p.m. local time, an MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter assigned to the "Battle Cats" of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 73 crashed in the South China Sea while conducting routine operations from the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68). Search-and-rescue teams from Carrier Strike Group 11 , operating alongside the Nimitz, quickly launched recovery efforts and safely pulled all three helicopter crew members from the water. Roughly 30 minutes after the helicopter incident, an F/A-18F Super Hornet from the…