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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.
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“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.
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“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 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 Nimitz, assigned to the “Fighting Redcocks” of Strike Fighter Squadron 22, also went down in the South China Sea during flight operations.
Search-and-rescue teams again responded swiftly, recovering the jet’s two crew members, who had successfully ejected before the aircraft hit the water. Both aviators were transported back to the Nimitz and are reported to be in stable condition.
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USS Nimitz has been commissioned in the U.S. Navy for 50 years, and its current tour is set to be its last before being retired.
Fox News’ Greg Wehner contributed to this report.
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