The U.S. Navy’s Pacific Fleet reported this week that it lost two aircraft — a fighter jet and a helicopter — from the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier. Within 30 minutes of each other, both crashed into the South China Sea on Sunday.
“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 73 went down in the waters of the South China Sea while conducting routine operations from the aircraft carrier,” reads a statement from U.S. Pacific Fleet. “Search and rescue assets assigned to Carrier Strike Group 11 safely recovered all three crew members.”
Navy fighter jet, helicopter based off aircraft carrier crash into South China Sea within 30 minutes https://t.co/xAahGnp0o1 pic.twitter.com/676ZtP4dQv
— New York Post (@nypost) October 27, 2025
On his way to Tokyo on Monday on Air Force One, President Donald Trump said the incidents could have been caused by “bad fuel.” He said: “It could be bad fuel. I mean, it’s possible it’s bad fuel. Very unusual that that would happen.”
Retired Navy Commander Phil Ehr, a pilot who had a 26-year active duty career, responded to the report on social media.
Ehr, who is running as a Democrat in the 2026 Florida 28th Congressional District election, wrote: “Pete Hegseth can go on TV all he wants about ‘military strength,’ but two aircraft just went overboard from the USS Nimitz in 30 minutes. He must explain why our Navy’s readiness keeps slipping on his watch.”
Pete Hegseth can go on TV all he wants about “military strength,” but two aircraft just went overboard from the USS Nimitz in 30 minutes. He must explain why our Navy’s readiness keeps slipping on his watch. https://t.co/NdSz89gSwy
— Phil Ehr (@PhilEhr) October 27, 2025
Note: The USS Harry S. Truman has also recently suffered a series of mishaps while deployed this year, including an incident in April when a F/A-18 fighter jet slipped off the hangar deck and fell into the Red Sea.
Many MAGA supporters are defending Hegseth on social media with comments including “Explain how that’s his fault” and others blame “years of DEI” practices in the military and assert that “it takes time to fix a broken culture.”
Note: Ehr is running against incumbent Republican Representative Carlos Gimenez, who won nearly 65 percent of the votes in the 2024 election. Gimenez serves as the Chairman of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security, and on the Armed Services Committee.