The U.S. Navy has recorded its worst year for unplanned accidents in a decade — and the numbers tell a sobering story about operational risk both at home and abroad. According to data released by the Navy Safety Command and announced this week, fiscal year 2026 saw more Class A mishaps involving aircraft and vessels than any year in the past ten.
The official tally stands at 16 Class A aviation mishaps and 11 Class A afloat mishaps for the fiscal year. The Navy classifies an incident as Class A when it results in at least $2.5 million in damage, the total loss of an aircraft, a fatality, or permanent total disability — making these among the most serious categories of military accidents.
Several of these incidents took place in the Middle East, where U.S. forces have been engaged since President Donald Trump launched Operation Epic Fury on Feb. 28, triggering the Iran war.
A Sailor Lost at Sea
One of the year’s most tragic events began with an emergency. A sailor is now presumed dead following an emergency water landing by an MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter in the Arabian Sea on July 1. The helicopter, assigned to the USS George H.W. Bush, went down under non-combat circumstances while operating in the Middle East. The three remaining crew members were rescued, but the fourth was reported missing and later presumed dead. The Navy has opened an investigation into the cause of the crash.
Fire Aboard the World’s Largest Carrier
The USS Gerald R. Ford — the world’s largest aircraft carrier — experienced a significant non-combat fire on March 12 while conducting operations in the Red Sea in support of Operation Epic Fury. The blaze broke out in the ship’s main laundry room and proved extraordinarily difficult to contain.
Firefighting crews battled the blaze for well over a day before it was fully brought under control. The destruction it left behind was extensive — berthing arrangements for more than 600 sailors were gutted by the fire, leaving many crew members to sleep on floors and tables. Three sailors were injured in the incident, one of whom required medical evacuation from the ship. The Ford was pulled from its operational area for several days and sent to Split, Croatia for repairs.
Incidents Away from the Combat Zone
Not all of this year’s mishaps were connected to the war. On July 1, an F/A-18F Super Hornet developed a left engine fire during a routine training mission over Naval Air Station Fallon, Nevada. The crew managed to land the aircraft safely, and no injuries were reported.
Later in the fiscal year, on Sept. 28, six sailors and two aviators were injured during a landing mishap aboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier operating off the coast of Virginia. Two pilots were attempting to land an E/A-18G Growler on the carrier at 6:18 p.m. when an arresting gear failure forced them to eject from the aircraft.
