The US Navy fighter and towing tractor fell off the aircraft carrier and sank into the Red Sea on Monday after crews lost control of the plane, the Navy said.
One sailor suffered minor injuries, the Navy said, adding that it would investigate the incident of Harry S. Truman, an aircraft carrier operating in the Red Sea and helping to launch an attack on Yemeni Hooty militia. The F/A-18 Super Hornet Fighter Jet, which costs around $67 million, was towed in a hanger bay when members of the crew lost control, according to the Navy.
Three Pentagon officials with knowledge of the incident said the aircraft carriers were in a better position against the threat of footy missiles and drones when the jet fell into the water. The pilot was thought to be a contributing factor to the loss of the plane, but that wasn’t necessarily the only reason they went overboard, officials said.
Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree said in a statement Monday that the group fired missiles and drones at the Truman.
“The crew towing the aircraft took immediate action to remove the aircraft before it fell overboard,” the Navy said.
Houthis has attacked commercial and military vessels in the Red Sea as a show of solidarity with residents of Gaza and Hamas, the militant group that controls the enclave. President Trump ordered the US troops to launch an air campaign called Operation Roughrider on March 15, following several strikes under the Biden administration.
US troops attacked more than 800 targets in Yemen during the campaign, according to the US military.
Targets for these strikes included “multiple command and control facilities, air defense systems, advanced weapons manufacturing facilities, and advanced weapon storage locations.”
The rest of the vessels in Truman and his strike group remain “fully missionable” after the plane was lost, the Navy said.
It was not the first accident for Truman, who is deploying in the Middle East. In February, the carrier collided with a merchant ship near the port, and Egypt said it had caused damage to the carrier and the commercial ship. The Navy then fired the Commander of the Career Strike Group.
In December, a F/A-18 Super Hornet flying from an aircraft carrier was shot down by Gettysburg, a guided missile cruiser who was accompanying Truman. The two pilots were safely recovered.
