In the span of two months this summer, U.S. naval aviation recorded three separate in-flight engine fires that caused millions in damage to the airframes and forced landings.
That’s according to data recorded by the Naval Safety Center, which tracks Class A mishaps — those that cause at least $2.5 million in damage or lead to death or loss of life — in a publicly accessible dashboard. The Navy and Marine Corps did not publicly announce any of the in-flight fires when they happened. While the mishaps did result in aircraft damage, landings were completed safely in all three cases and no crew members were injured.
The first of the three incidents took place July 1 and involved a F/A-18F Super Hornet two-seater fighter jet over Naval Air Station Fallon, Nevada.
A spokesperson from Naval Air Forces told Military Times that the aircraft was assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron 22, out of Naval Air Station Lemoore, California, about 300 miles away. The Super Hornet “experienced a left engine fire while conducting a routine training mission,” the official said. “The aircrew executed emergency procedures and landed safely at [NAS Fallon] with no injuries.”
While the estimated damage exceeds $2.5 million, the Navy plans to repair the aircraft and return it to service, the official said. The incident remains under investigation.
The second mishap, on Aug. 16, involved a Marine Corps CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter with Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 466, out of San Diego, California. Officials with 3rd Marine Corps Air Wing told Military Times the fire took place around 11 p.m. while the aircraft was conducting a routine night training mission over Glamis, California.
“The aircraft executed an emergency landing after experiencing an engine fire while conducting training,” officials said in a provided statement. “After conducting an emergency shutdown, all crew members safely egressed the helicopter.”
An investigation is also underway into this incident, officials said, and no further details were provided.
The final incident involved an F/A-18E single-seater jet in the vicinity of Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia. A Naval Air Forces Atlantic spokeswoman, Lt. Cmdr. Courtney Callaghan, declined to answer most Military Times questions about the incident.
“A U.S. Navy F/A-18E Super Hornet experienced an engine fire in flight during a routine training mission and landed safely at Naval Air Station Oceana. The aircrew sustained no injuries, and the incident is under investigation,” she said.
While the aircraft engine fires don’t appear to be linked, the episodes are notable not only because they take operational aircraft out of commission during a time of heightened operational tempo, but also because such fires are relatively rare. The Naval Safety Center records only one other engine fire this fiscal year, one that took place on March 25 involving an F/A-18F that caught fire on takeoff and was forced to land at NAS Lemoore. The center reported none in Fiscal Year 2025.
Engine fires, which can be particularly dangerous because they require emergency landings, can at times point to larger issues. In 2022, the Army grounded its entire CH-47 Chinook helicopter fleet after a number of separate engine fires attributed to fuel leaks. The grounding lasted nearly a month before the roughly 400 aircraft were gradually cleared and returned to service.
Super Hornets, the core of the Navy’s fighter jet stable, have reported multiple engine fires in recent years, with two in-flight incidents in the same month in September 2020, and two more in-flight fires in late 2021. An August 2022 Super Hornet engine fire incident made headlines when it necessitated a first-of-its-kind repair at sea onboard the carrier George H.W. Bush.
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