A dramatic incident unfolded when both a fighter jet and a helicopter, stationed on the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, crashed into the South China Sea within a half-hour of each other. This double mishap was confirmed by the US Navy’s Pacific Fleet.

Remarkably, all five crew members involved in the accidents were rescued. The MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter’s three crew members, along with the two aviators from the F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter jet, were safely recovered and are reportedly in stable condition, according to an official statement from the fleet.

The underlying causes of these crashes are currently under investigation, as indicated in the Navy’s statement.

In response to the incidents, President Donald Trump addressed reporters aboard Air Force One while en route to Tokyo. He speculated that “bad fuel” might be to blame but dismissed any notions of foul play and assured there was “nothing to hide.”

The USS Nimitz, after spending much of the summer in the Middle East as part of the US strategy against Houthi rebel attacks on commercial vessels, is returning to its home port at Naval Base Kitsap in Washington state. This voyage marks its final deployment before the carrier is set to be decommissioned.

Another aircraft carrier, the USS Harry S Truman, suffered a series of mishaps in recent months while deployed to the Middle East.

In December, the guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg mistakenly shot down an F/A-18 jet from the Truman.

Then, in April, another F/A-18 fighter jet slipped off the Truman’s hangar deck and fell into the Red Sea.

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.

No sailors were killed in any of those mishaps. The results of investigations into those incidents have yet to be released.