CNN
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A US Navy F/A-18 Tremendous Hornet fighter jet has been “misplaced” at sea after it fell overboard from the USS Harry S. Truman plane provider whereas it was being towed on board, the Navy mentioned in an announcement on Monday.
A US official mentioned that preliminary studies from the scene indicated that the Truman made a tough flip to evade Houthi hearth, which contributed to the fighter jet falling overboard. The Houthi insurgent group claimed on Monday to have launched a drone and missile assault on the plane provider, which is within the Pink Sea as a part of the US army’s main anti-Houthi operation.
All personnel are accounted for, and one sailor sustained a minor damage.
“The F/A-18E was actively underneath tow within the hangar bay when the transfer crew misplaced management of the plane. The plane and tow tractor have been misplaced overboard,” the assertion mentioned. “Sailors towing the plane took quick motion to maneuver away from the plane earlier than it fell overboard. An investigation is underway.”
A second US official advised CNN that the plane had sunk. A person F/A-18 fighter jet prices greater than $60 million, in accordance with the Navy.
The Truman Provider Strike Group is at present deployed within the Center East and was within the Pink Sea on the time of the incident. The Navy emphasised on Monday that the strike group and its air wing “stay totally mission succesful.”
The Truman has repeatedly been focused in assaults by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen. It made headlines in February when it collided with a merchant ship close to Egypt; no accidents have been reported. One other F/A-18 from the Truman was additionally “mistakenly fired” upon and shot down by the USS Gettysburg within the Pink Sea in December ; each pilots ejected safely.
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