Yesterday, an F/A-18 Super Hornet and, separately, an MH-60 Sea Hawk (Navy version of Black Hawk) helicopter, went down in the South China Sea. The coincidence is disturbing, but the reality is that a miracle happened. All five crew members were rescued and are all in stable condition.
To some, the dangers associated with flying fighters off a carrier deck, rotor wing aircraft in any weather, keeping operational readiness above 80 percent, ready 24-7-365 may seem easy. It is not.
Whatever the cause of the two accidents, and hostile fire was not a cause, the fact that all crew members could be swiftly retrieved from heaving seas, with no casualties, is a testament to the Navy.
Both airframes originated on the USS Nimitz, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, first in her class, commissioned in 1975, 50 years ago last June. Having stood on that carrier’s “vulture deck” and watched deck landings, F/A 18s hitting one of four wires, going to full power if they missed, the whole enterprise is one of exceptional training, performance, confidence, and pride.
The US has 11 active nuclear “supercarriers,” the largest warships in the world. Ten are Nimitz class, one is Ford class, first in a new class. China has two carriers, with a third undergoing sea trials. Russia does not have any operational carriers.
The miracle that happened has multiple parts. First, ejection from the F/A 18, for which pilots go through extensive egress training, is itself a minor miracle. Ejection survival at higher altitudes is 4 in 5, at lower altitudes, 1 in 2.
Helicopter crash survival at sea is also dicey; four in five with 15 seconds’ warning, better with more warning, but never easy.
Then there is launch and recovery, and launch and recovery for two airframes, aircrews, five aviators, and simultaneously.
Having managed an airwing of 250 airframes (State INL), flying in dangerous circumstances, often in Black Hawks and fixed wings, the need for superb training to match superb equipment is high. That the carrier swiftly deployed, secured, and returned, with no casualties, is a testament.
That said, the underlying question – as in medical science – is why this happened. If two events occurred at the same time, was there a common factor? If the weather was an issue, training, shared equipment, or a technical issue that needs to be swiftly addressed. If something else, same thing.
Many – but not all – aviation mishaps occur at speed. While overall military mishaps and fatalities are small, perhaps a dozen a year are “Class A” mishaps, serious enough to produce a fatality.
Concerning readiness, FY2024 – Biden’s last budget year – saw the most “Class A” mishaps afloat in a decade. Current leadership, in an about-face, has tightened standards, training, and outcomes.
While numbers are elusive, and every operating environment, airframe, pilot, and mishap is different, all subject to extensive review, the 20,000-foot view is: A miracle happened here.
Robert Charles is a former Assistant Secretary of State under Colin Powell, former Reagan and Bush 41 White House staffer, Maine attorney, ten-year naval intelligence officer (USNR), and 25-year businessman. He wrote “Narcotics and Terrorism” (2003), “Eagles and Evergreens” (North Country Press, 2018), and “Cherish America: Stories of Courage, Character, and Kindness” (Tower Publishing, 2024). He is the National Spokesman for AMAC. Today, he is running to be Maine’s next Governor (please visit BobbyforMaine.com to learn more)!
Go0d morning RBC, I know I have mentioned this before so here it is again. While on deployment around the Philippines in late 1980, our ship was involved in a search and rescue for a down USMC F-4 Phantom that had gone down while trying to land at Cubi Point, PI. Unfortunately, there was no debris field to find the point of impact. The plane was later found in 3,000 ft of water with both members still in the plane. Never found out why they did not eject.
In mid 1983, I was onboard a mine warfare helicopter, a Sea Stallion, off Cubi Point during an exercise when the Helo lost an engine. The Helo was able to get back to the airfield. This was the closest I came to be in an accident.
The only other incident I was involved with was in early 1987 with an Air Force SR-71 out of Beale AFB in CA. The plane was refueled just outside of the Tampa Bay area and was starting a mission around Cuba, when the plane lost both engines. glided (?) down, landing at NAS Key West where I was stationed for an intelligence assignment. The Cubans were tracking the mission and went berserk when they were unable to track the SR-71. Watched the SR-71 land safely and then got the plane into a hanger for concealment. The crewmen were ready for a change of clothing and a cool brew from this incident.
The only humorous “air” accident that I was involved with is when I was stationed with NATO HQ in Brussels, Belgium. In Feb 1998, there was a future Admiral, a Chief-of-Staff and me were in an open plaza in Bruge when the future Admiral was “bombed” by a pigeon. Only casualty was his shoe, direct hit.
Have a good day.
Good to hear about a miracle; they do happen. Best wishes to all involved.
FLY NAVY!
GO NAVY!
One slight correction – airplanes landing on carriers do not to full power if they miss the arresting gear wires. They land with full (military) power applied in case they miss the wires or suffer some other issue that prevents a normal landing.
*go
This could very well have been electronic warfare by China. The odds of two “Accidents” happening within 30 minutes of each other on two platforms from the same ship are astronomical.Possible, just not likely.
another case of TDS. poor boy don’t know drinking the kool aid leads you down the path to be a democrat & progressive.