The U.S. Navy recorded 16 Class A aviation mishaps and 11 afloat mishaps in fiscal year 2026, according to data reported by USNI News on Oct. 27. Both totals were the highest in at least a decade, raising questions about the safety record across naval aviation and ship operations.
The 16 aviation mishaps occurred between Oct. 1, 2025, and Sept. 30, 2026, and included manned and unmanned aircraft incidents as well as ground aviation mishaps. The Navy last recorded more aviation mishaps in fiscal 2014, when there were 17.
Of the 16 incidents, two involved unmanned aircraft. Among the 14 involving manned aircraft, 11 were flight mishaps and three occurred on the ground.
The incidents included the loss of an F/A-18F Super Hornet and an MH-60R Seahawk in separate crashes into the South China Sea in October 2025. Two EA-18G Growlers also crashed during an airshow in May 2026, with all four aviators ejecting safely. A separate Growler landing mishap aboard USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in September injured four sailors.
Another incident involved an MH-60S helicopter assigned to USS George H.W. Bush that ditched into the Arabian Sea, killing an aviator.
Class A mishaps are the most serious category in the Navy’s reporting system. They include incidents involving at least $2.5 million in damage, destruction of an aircraft, a fatality or permanent total disability.
By comparison, the Marine Corps reported six aviation mishaps during the same fiscal year, one more than in fiscal 2025. Five occurred in flight and one on the ground.
The figures were reported by USNI News based on data from the Navy Safety Command. The Navy has not publicly attributed the increase in aviation mishaps to a single cause.
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