An F-18 fighter jet was lost in the Red Sea on Tuesday after tipping off the flight deck of the USS Harry S Truman aircraft carrier, in the second such incident in about a week, two U.S. officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
No immediate response from U.S. navy
An F-18 fighter jet was lost in the Red Sea on Tuesday after tipping off the flight deck of the USS Harry S Truman aircraft carrier, in the second such incident in about a week, two U.S. officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The officials said the jet failed to come to a proper halt after landing on the carrier. Both members of the crew ejected before the jet plunged into the water and were recovered by a rescue helicopter, one of the officials said.
The U.S. navy did not have an immediate response.
One of the officials said medical evaluations showed the aviators had minor injuries and that no flight deck personnel were injured.
The incident was first reported by CNN. ABC News and NBC News also had their own reports about it.
Last week, another fighter jet fell overboard from the same ship, which has been aiding U.S. strikes against Yemen’s Houthi fighters.
U.S. fighter aircraft cost $60 million US or more, and such incidents are rare. The fact that two occurred in such a short time is likely to raise scrutiny of the carrier’s operations.
