Seven Injured During ‘Landing Mishap’ on USS Carl Vinson Aircraft Carrier in South China Sea

The “landing mishap” comes as USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) had just kicked off joint carrier operations with the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group in the South China Sea.

Seven U.S. Navy sailors were injured after a F-35 fighter jet had a “landing mishap” on board the USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) while operating in the South China Sea on Monday, the Navy has confirmed.

The pilot of the F-35C Lightning II aircraft “safely ejected” and was recovered by a U.S. military helicopter. The pilot is reported to be in stable condition.

The Navy said a total of seven sailors were injured, including three who required a MEDEVAC to a medical treatment facility in Manila, Philippines. All three are reported to be in stable condition. Another four were treated by on-board medical personnel.

Media reports indicate the aircraft has been lost. “Additional details and the cause of the inflight mishap is under investigation,” the Navy said.

The U.S. Navy’s Carl Vinson and Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Groups began dual carrier operations in the South China Sea on January 23, 2022, led by flagships USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), of Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 1, and USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), of Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 3.

The joint operations, involving over 14,000 Sailors and Marines, were to include enhanced maritime communication operations, anti-submarine warfare operations, air warfare operations, replenishments-at-sea, cross-deck flight operations and maritime interdiction operations meant “to strengthen maritime integrated-at-sea operations and combat readiness.”

“Our ability to rapidly aggregate and work collectively alongside CSG 3, highlights the U.S. Navy’s ability to deliver overwhelming maritime force, when called upon, to support a free and open Indo-Pacific region,” said Rear Adm. Dan Martin, commander of Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group, prior to Monday’s accident. “We are committed to ensuring the lawful use of the sea and free flow of commerce while deterring those who challenge the shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific now and into the long-term future.”

“Training with Carrier Strike Group 1 in the South China Sea is a tremendously valuable opportunity,” said Rear Adm. J.T. Anderson, commander, Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 3. “Operations like these allow us to improve our combat credible capability, reassure our allies and partners, and demonstrate our resolve as a Navy to ensure regional stability and counter malign influence.”

The Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group includes nine squadrons from Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 2, consisting of an F-35C squadron, known as the “Argonauts” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 147, among others.