For the second time in just eight days, a US fighter jet has fallen into the Red Sea after a mishap involving the USS Harry S Truman aircraft carrier. An F/A-18F Super Hornet was attempting to land on the carrier’s flight deck on Tuesday when a maneuver went wrong, causing the aircraft to go overboard. The two crew members ejected safely and suffered only minor injuries. Each Super Hornet is valued at approximately $67 million.
The crew members were rescued by a helicopter from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 11. This incident follows another similar event just the previous Monday, when another Super Hornet fell into the Red Sea. In that case, the aircraft had been under tow in the hangar bay when the move crew lost control of it. A sailor sustained minor injuries, and a tractor used for towing the jet was also pulled into the water.
In the second incident, officials noted that there was a failure of an arrestment system, a cable used to slow the jet down during landing. The investigation into this incident is ongoing, and the aircraft has not yet been recovered. Some officials speculated that the jet may have gone overboard when the carrier made a sharp turn while taking evasive action against Houthi militants in Yemen.
Earlier that day, President Donald Trump had announced that the US would stop targeting the Iran-backed Houthis if they ceased attacking shipping in the Red Sea.
The USS Truman has been involved in several incidents during its Red Sea deployment, including an event in December when the USS Gettysburg mistakenly shot down another F/A-18 fighter jet operating from the carrier. Both crew members survived that incident as well.
