Accidents involving U.S. aircraft carriers

The recent accidents, involving Russian Navy´s MiG-29KR and Su-33, had started speculations about maturity and technical level of Russian technology, involved in the Syrian campaign. Indeed, two accidents in short space of time create opportunity to speculate about various causes and background of the accidents. While it was declared, that MiG-29KR´s crash was due to engine malfunction and Su-33´s was attributed to broken arresting cable, there were surely other factors involved as well.

Nevertheless, let´s compare the attrition rate of Russian´s Navy main adversary – the U.S. Navy. If you isolate accidents, that involved exclusively aircrafts or helicopters from U.S. Navy´s aircraft carriers or ships, able to receive aircraft or helicopters, you will get interesting figures. All the incidents took place between 1st January 2010 and November 2016.

31 March: A USN Grumman E-2C Hawkeye from Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 121 crashed at approximately 1400 hrs. local time in the Arabian Sea. It was returning to its ship, the USS Eisenhower, after conducting operations in support of Operation Enduring Freedom when it experienced mechanical malfunctions and the crew performed a controlled bailout. The pilot was killed. Navy 5th Fleet officials declined to speculate on the cause of the crash, but the Naval Safety Center's Web site listed it as "an engine oil leak."

30 March: Ten sailors are injured when an engine of a USMC McDonnell-Douglas F/A-18C Hornet of VMFAT-101 based at MCAS Miramar, California, suffers a catastrophic failure while preparing for launch at 14:50 during routine training exercises from the USS John C. Stennis, about 100 miles (160 km) off the California coast.

11 April : A USN Bell-Boeing MV-22B Osprey from USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7) crashed near Agadir, Morocco, during a joint training exercise. Two Marines were killed and two others seriously injured.

22 August: A USN Sikorsky MH-60S Knighthawk "617" of HSC-6 "Indians" crashed in the Red Sea.3 Crew members were rescued, Two pilots presumed dead.

4 June: An F/A-18E Super Hornet of VFA-81 Sun Liners crashed while trying to land on the USS. Carl Vinson off the coast of Southern California .Pilot ejected safely.

1 September: A United States Marine Corps Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopter crashed in the Gulf of Aden whilst attempting to land on USS Mesa Verde. All 25 people on board were rescued.

12 May: A U.S. Navy Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet of NAS Oceana-based VFA-211 crashed into the Persian Gulf after launching off the USS Theodore Roosevelt. A 5th Fleet spokesman could not confirm whether the crash was due to pilot error or aircraft malfunction, adding that those details will be sorted out in an investigation to follow. Both aviators ejected and were quickly recovered by search and rescue personnel.

11 August: A McDonnell Douglas F/A-18C Hornet spotted ahead of the island aboard USS Harry S. Truman catches fire while undergoing refuelling during night operations off the Virginia Capes, injuring two. The pilot ejects and lands on the flight deck.

12 August: A U.S. Army Sikorsky MH-60L Black Hawk crashed during a training mission while landing on the USNS Red Cloud about 20 miles (30 kilometers) east of Okinawa, injuring seven people and damaging the aircraft, officials said.

All the data are collected from Wikipedia. We can see, that in the space of 7 years, U.S. Navy had lost 9 aircrafts and helicopters. That is 1,3 aircraft lost per year, operating exclusively from the ships. This figure proves, that there is nothing unusual about the current rate of losses and accidents of Russian Navy´s aviation. Rather, it puts light on the intensity of operations aboard single operational Russian heavy aircraft carrying cruiser „Admiral Kuznetsov“. Also, it underlines the intensity of propaganda war, aimed at discrediting everything made in Russia.