Jan 25, 2022: According to a report by Al Jazeera, the U.S. Navy says at least seven U.S. sailors have been injured in a “landing accident” involving a combat F-35 aircraft aboard a nuclear-powered U.S. warship that was traveling in the South China Sea.

In a statement issued late Monday, the U.S. Pacific Fleet Command said the F-35C Lightning II jet was “performing normal flight operations” when the crash occurred on the deck of USS Carl Vinson.

A statement from the U.S. Navy’s office in Hawaii said, “The pilot was safely evacuated from the plane and was rescued by a U.S. military helicopter.” The statement also added that the condition of the airman is stable.

Three of the seven injured sailors have been transferred to a medical facility in the Philippine capital Manila. The statement did not say why the three officers had to be evacuated, but added that they were later “assessed as stable”.

Four other officers on the USS Carl Vinson were treated and three of them were released. No additional details were provided about the condition of the fourth sailor.

The US Navy said that the cause of the “inflight mishap is under investigation”. The statement did not provide information about the condition of the F-35C aircraft and whether the USS Carl Vinson sustained any physical damage.

The Philippine government has yet to issue a statement about the incident.

Last year in October, another USS nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Connecticut, was involved in another incident in the Indo-Pacific region. None of the sailors involved were fatally wounded, but the incident resulted in the firing of a submarine commander. The Naval Institute’s news website reports that the latest incident occurred when USS Carl Vinson was conducting a military exercise with the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group in the disputed South China Sea.

According to publicly available information, both carriers are considered Nimitz-type ships, which are classified as “nuclear-powered” carriers.

The United States is conducting naval exercises and navigation operations in the South China Sea, as it seeks to challenge China’s growing maritime activity in the waters, which Beijing claims almost entirely. Earlier this month, the United States said China’s activities in the South China Sea, including its “historic claims” of a major trade route, “severely undermines the rule of law” at sea and in international law.

Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei, and Taiwan also claim parts of the South China Sea.

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