This handout picture released by the US Navy on May 9, 2019 shows an MH-60R Sea Hawk Helicopter, assigned to the Grandmasters of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 46 aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Nitze (DDG 94) as it takes off from the ships flight deck. Nitze is underway as part of Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group (ABECSG). The US is deploying an amphibious assault ship and a Patriot missile battery to bolster an aircraft carrier and B-52 bombers already sent to the Gulf, ratcheting up pressure on Iran. The USS Arlington, which transports marines, amphibious vehicles, conventional landing craft and rotary aircraft, and the Patriot air defence system will join the Abraham Lincoln carrier group, the Pentagon announced on May 10. (Photo by Madysson Anne Ritter / Navy Office of Information / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO /US NAVY" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS
WASHINGTON, United States – Dalawang sasakyang panghimpapawid ng US Navy ang bumagsak sa South China Sea sa magkahiwalay na insidente noong Linggo, Oktubre 26, sinabi ng mga opisyal, na walang naiulat na nasawi.
Ang unang pag-crash ay kinasasangkutan ng isang MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter, na iniulat na “went down in the waters of the South China Sea while conducting routine operations from the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz,” ayon sa isang pahayag mula sa Pacific Fleet ng US Navy.
Lahat ng tatlong tripulante na sakay ng helicopter ay narekober ng mga search and rescue team, sabi ng pahayag.
Makalipas ang kalahating oras, ayon sa Navy, isang Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter jet ang bumagsak sa South China Sea, habang nagsasagawa rin ng mga regular na operasyon mula sa USS Nimitz.
Ang pahayag ng Navy ay nagsabi na ang parehong mga tripulante na sakay ay inilabas ang kanilang mga sarili mula sa barko at ligtas na nabawi.
“All personnel involved are safe and in stable condition,” ayon sa US Navy. “The cause of both incidents is currently under investigation.”
Dumating ang mga pag-crash habang nasa rehiyon si US President Donald Trump, sa kanyang unang pagbisita sa Asia sa kanyang ikalawang termino, at habang naghahanda si Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth na magsimula rin ng multi-country Asian tour.
Sa unang bahagi ng taong ito, dalawang US warplanes ang nahulog mula sa US Navy’s Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier habang tumatakbo sa Middle East. RNT/MND
