<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A fighter jet and a helicopter based on the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz both crashed into the South China Sea within 30 minutes of each other, the US Navy's Pacific Fleet said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The three crew members of the MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter were rescued on Sunday afternoon, and the two aviators in the F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter jet ejected and were recovered safely, and all five "are safe and in stable condition," the fleet said in a statement.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The causes of the two crashes were under investigation, the statement said.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/hurricane-melissa-update-storm-intensifies-to-category-5-on-path-to-slam-into-jamaica-as-islands-strongest-recorded-storm/afebb313-b2b8-41c0-b7c4-6c4c24368dd7" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>Evacuations ordered as worst-ever storm barrels towards Jamaica</span></strong></a><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Tokyo on Monday, said the incidents could have been caused by "bad fuel." He ruled out foul play and said there was "nothing to hide."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The USS Nimitz is returning to its home port in Naval Base Kitsap in Washington state after having been deployed to the Middle East for most of the summer as part of the US response to attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels on commercial shipping. The carrier is on its final deployment before decommissioning.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Another aircraft carrier, the USS Harry S Truman, suffered a series of mishaps in recent months while deployed to the Middle East.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/uss-nimitz-aircraft-carrier-loses-two-aircraft-in-30-minutes/65af34dd-e890-48f3-b25f-a22bf034ee5d" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>TREAT MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/hurricane-melissa-update-storm-intensifies-to-category-5-on-path-to-slam-into-jamaica-as-islands-strongest-recorded-storm/afebb313-b2b8-41c0-b7c4-6c4c24368dd7" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>Evacuations ordered as worst-ever storm barrels towards Jamaica</span></strong></a><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In December, the guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg mistakenly shot down an F/A-18 jet from the Truman.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Then, in April, another F/A-18 fighter jet slipped off the Truman's hangar deck and fell into the Red Sea.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>And in May, an F/A fighter jet landing on the carrier in the Red Sea went overboard after apparently failing to catch the steel cables used to stop landing planes and forcing its two pilots to eject.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>No sailors were killed in any of those mishaps. The results of investigations into those incidents have yet to be released.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Apple App Store</span></em></strong></a><span> </span><strong><em><span>and</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU&amp;pli=1" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Google Play</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>.</span></em></strong></div></div>