The USS Nimitz in Busan City, South Korea [Credit: Shutterstock]
Key Takeaways:
President Donald Trump suggested "bad fuel" as a possible cause for two recent U.S. Navy aircraft crashes in the South China Sea, dismissing the idea of "foul play."
Unnamed sources confirmed that contaminated fuel is being investigated as a potential cause for the incidents involving an MH-60R Seahawk helicopter and an F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter jet.
Both aircraft, operating from the USS Nimitz and using its JP-5 jet fuel, experienced crashes within a half-hour of each other, though all crewmembers were rescued, and a full Navy investigation is expected to take months.
When asked by a reporter aboard Air Force One if he suspected “foul play” in connection with the crashes, Trump said he didn’t and offered another possible explanation.
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Zach Vasile is a writer and editor covering news in all aspects of aviation. He has reported for and contributed to the Manchester Journal Inquirer, the Hartford Business Journal, the Charlotte Observer, and the Washington Examiner, with his area of focus being the intersection of business and government policy.
