A U.S. Navy warplane suffered a "mechanical issue" Monday that caused it to crash into the Philippine Sea.
The two pilots were ejected from the aircraft, a F/A-18 Super Hornet, and landed in the sea northeast of the Philippines. A search-and-rescue aircraft, the U.S. 7th Fleet said in a statement, saved the crew and took them to the nearby USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier, from which the Super Hornet had been deployed.
U.S. Navy Aircraft Crashes in Philippine Sea
— 7th Fleet (@US7thFleet) November 12, 2018
A F/A-18 from Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5 experienced a mechanical issue resulting in the crew ejecting. The crew was immediately and safely recovered by USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76).
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Medical staff then examined the crew, who are both "in good condition," the U.S. Navy reported.
The Navy is probing the circumstances of the crash, a spokesperson from the 7th Fleet told Newsweek. "The incident is under investigation, and we cannot speculate on the cause at this time," Lieutenant Joe Keiley stated in an email. "The aircraft has not been recovered."
The Ronald Reagan has subsequently returned to normal operations.
Before the incident, pilots were "conducting routine operations," Stars and Stripes reported. The aircraft carrier is based in Yokosuka, Japan, the publication stated.
An MH-60 Seahawk helicopter recently crashed on the Ronald Reagan flight deck, the 7th Fleet said in a statement. Labeled a "mishap" in the press statement, the collision occurred October 19 around 9 a.m. local time. Although no one suffered life-threatening injuries, some staff were evacuated for land-based medical attention, the fleet stated. Others were treated by medical staff aboard the aircraft carrier.
Investigations are ongoing into the incident, Stars and Stripes reported. "All patients from the Oct. 19 helicopter crash have [now] been released from the hospital in the Philippines and are currently receiving any necessary follow on care from Navy medical providers," Task Force 70 spokesman Lieutenant Commander Matt Knight told the publication.
In other Navy news, a Russian jet recently zipped past a U.S. plane in an "unsafe encounter." The Russian Sukhoi Su-27 conducted "a high speed pass directly in front of the mission aircraft, putting at risk the pilots and crew," a statement from the Navy's 6th Fleet read.
"While the Russian military is within its right to exercise within international airspace, this interaction was irresponsible," the statement continued. "We expect them to behave within international standards set to ensure safety and to prevent incidents."
The 6th Fleet added, "Unsafe actions increase the risk of miscalculation and potential for midair collisions."
A Navy ship was recently accused of failing to rescue a migrant boat that capsized in the Mediterranean Sea, killing dozens. Survivors said the USNS Trenton failed to act on distress calls from the sinking boat. But the Navy has disputed the accounts, denying its ship was near the migrants' boat before it sank.
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