Navy investigation finds submarine crash in South China Sea was 'preventable'

A Navy investigation into the October crash of a submarine into an underwater ridge in the South China Sea was "preventable" and followed navigation planning and risk management mistakes as well as other errors.

The failures "fell far below US Navy standards," according to the command investigation, and the accident left the USS Connecticut nuclear-powered Seawolf-class submarine unable to operate "for an extended period of time" because of the damage.
Eleven sailors suffered minor injuries in the accident, the most serious of which were a scalp laceration and a broken scapula. But on the journey to Guam, where the Connecticut headed following the crash, the ship's leadership found that more than a third of the crew would benefit from mental health treatment.