WASHINGTON: A fighter jet and a helicopter based off the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz both crashed into the South China Sea within 30 minutes of each other on Sunday afternoon, the Navy’s Pacific Fleet said. The three crew members of the MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter were rescued, 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. The causes of the two crashes were under investigation, the statement said.

The Navy's Pacific Fleet said it was investigating the cause of the incidents, which took place during "routine operations."

Two U.S. Navy aircraft went down in the South China Sea in two incidents separated by half an hour on Sunday, according to U.S. Pacific Fleet, which said all service members were…