US Navy sailors aboard the USS Harry S Truman experienced a harrowing incident on Monday when an F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet, along with the vehicle towing it, fell off the aircraft carrier into the Red Sea. The navy confirmed that the jet was being actively towed within the carrier’s hangar bay when those handling it lost control, causing both the aircraft and the tow tractor to roll out of the hangar and into the water. The F/A-18 was part of Strike Fighter Squadron 136.
This event occurred as the USS Harry S Truman was reportedly making evasive maneuvers to avoid fire from Yemen’s Houthi militia forces. According to unnamed US officials who spoke to CNN, the carrier was executing zig-zagging movements common in attempts to evade missile fire, a tactic that causes the ship to list to one side temporarily. The exact details of the ship's movements were pending an official investigation, which was underway on Tuesday.
The sailors involved narrowly escaped serious injury as the crew members in the pilot seat of the Super Hornet and the operator of the towing tractor both jumped clear before the equipment went overboard. Fighter jets are regularly towed around the hangar deck of carriers to position them for missions, and such movements involve precise coordination.
The USS Harry S Truman has been stationed in the Middle East for several months. Recently, its deployment was extended by US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. It is one of two US aircraft carriers currently operating in the region, where US forces have been conducting almost daily strikes against the Houthi rebel group with a combination of fighter jets, bombers, naval vessels, and drones.
This incident marks the second loss of an F/A-18 aircraft operating from the Truman in the past six months; in late last year, another F/A-18 was shot down by the cruiser USS Gettysburg while operating in the same theatre.
The Guardian is reporting this development alongside contributions from the Associated Press, while more detailed official reports from the US Navy are awaited as the investigation proceeds.
Source: Noah Wire Services