There was no foul play involved in the downing of the Navy plane in the South China Sea, Trump said

President Donald Trump The U.S. does not suspect foul play in two separate crashes of U.S. Navy aircraft in the South China Sea this weekend.

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Trump said he expects to have answers about the crash soon. He was given a possibility that the planes had faulty fuel, the president said.

“You have been briefed on the incident, on the Nimitz, both fighter jets and helicopters?” asked a reporter.

“I’ve heard about it, yes,” Trump replied.

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US President Donald Trump adjusts his jacket after disembarking from Air Force One upon arrival at Haneda Airport in Tokyo on October 27, 2025. (Photo by Philip Fong/AFP via Getty Images)

“Do you know what happened there? What was it?” asked the reporter.

“They’ll let me know soon. I think they should be able to find out. It might happen Bad fuel. That means, there is a possibility of bad fuel. It’s very unusual that this would happen,” Trump said.

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“You don’t think it was foul play or anything?” The journalist pressed.

“No, I’m not,” Trump replied. “They think it might be bad fuel.”

The US aircraft carrier USS Nimitz arrives at the naval base in Busan, South Korea, Tuesday, March 28, 2023. (Yonhap/Reuters)

Two U.S Navy aircraft A Sea Hawk helicopter and an F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet — from the USS Nimitz — crashed Sunday during separate “routine operations” in the South China Sea. According to the Navy, all five crew members aboard both vessels were rescued and are in stable condition.

The US Pacific Fleet – the Navy’s largest operational command – said in a post on X that at 2:54 pm local time, an MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter assigned to the “Battle Cats” of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 73 crashed in the South China Sea while conducting routine operations from USVN 6 (USVNC8).

Search and rescue teams from Carrier Strike Group 11Operating alongside the Nimitz, recovery efforts quickly began and all three helicopter crewmen were safely pulled from the water.

AF/A-18E Super Hornet fighter jet USS Dwight D. Eisenhower landed in the Red Sea on February 13 from the flight deck of an aircraft carrier. (Reuters) (Reuters/Hamad I Mohammed)

About 30 minutes after the helicopter incident, A F/A-18F Super Hornet A Nimitz aircraft assigned to the “Fighting Redcocks” of Strike Fighter Squadron 22 also went down in the South China Sea during a flight operation.

Search-and-rescue teams again responded quickly, recovering the jet’s two crew members, who had successfully ejected before the plane hit the water. Both pilots were flown back to the Nimitz and were reported to be in stable condition.

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USS Nimitz has been commissioned in the US Navy for 50 years and her current tour is her last tour before being retired.

Fox News’ Greg Wehner contributed to this report.