For the second time in just over a week, a U.S. Navy fighter jet from the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier has been lost in the Red Sea, a defense official confirmed to USA TODAY. A F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet crashed into the sea while attempting to land on the carrier on May 6, the official said. The two pilots ejected and were safely recovered with minor injuries. On April 28, another jet fell off the Truman as sailors towed the aircraft into the hangar bay, the Navy said. All personnel were accounted for in that incident and one person sustained a minor injury.
The F/A-18 Super Hornet landed on the Truman after a flight, but “the arrestment failed,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly about the incident now under investigation. “Arrestment” refers to the hook system used by aircraft landing on carriers, which catches steel wire ropes on the flight deck. It remains unclear what part of the system failed. The two pilots on board were later rescued by a helicopter and suffered minor injuries in the incident, the official added. No one on the flight deck was hurt.
A $60 million US fighter jet crashed into the Red Sea during a failed landing that injured two pilots and marked the second pricey plane the US Navy has lost to the sea in less than 10 days, according to a report. The F/A-18 Super Hornet experienced an “arrestment failure” as it attempted to land on the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier in the Red Sea, CNN reported. The two pilots ejected from the warplane before it crashed into the water and were recovered alive by a rescue helicopter, according to the report. They were treated for minor injuries.
