Crashes involving US destroyers were "avoidable"

Crashes involving US destroyers were "avoidable"

The US Navy guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain is seen after a collision, in Singapore waters Aug 21, 2017. (Reuters file photo)
The US Navy guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain is seen after a collision, in Singapore waters Aug 21, 2017. (Reuters file photo)

WASHINGTON: Two crashes in the Asia Pacific region involving US Navy destroyers and commercial vessels earlier this year were avoidable and caused by a number of preventable errors, a Navy investigation released on Wednesday said.

"Both of these accidents were preventable and the respective investigations found multiple failures by watchstanders that contributed to the incidents," Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson said.

Ten sailors were killed when the guided missile destroyer John S. McCain collided with a tanker in August. Seven sailors were killed when its sister ship, the Fitzgerald, collided with a Philippine container ship in June. 

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