The US Navy emblem is seen on a monument in Streator, Illinois. Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto/Getty Images

A US Navy helicopter and a fighter jet went down Sunday during separate routine operations over the South China Sea, and all crew members were safely rescued, the Navy’s Pacific Fleet said.

The Navy has launched an investigation into the cause of both incidents.

The Navy said on social media Sunday evening that a MH-60R Seahawk helicopter, assigned to the “Battle Cats” of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 73 went down around 2:45 p.m. local time “while conducting routine operations from the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz.” Search-and-rescue crews rescued three crew members, the Navy said.

After the incident, at 3:15 p.m., an F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter assigned to the “Fighting R

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