An F/A-18 fighter jet rolled off the side an aircraft carrier and sank to the bottom of the Red Sea, the Navy announced on Monday.
There was one enlisted crew member aboard the jet and a second enlisted crew member inside the tractor when the incident occurred.
Both personnel were able to jump out in time with only one person sustaining a minor injury, according to officials.
An F/A-18 Super Hornet assigned to the “Gunslingers” of Strike Fighter Squadron 105 launches from the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman
Ricardo Reyes/U.S. Navy, FILES
In the extraordinary mishap attributed to human error, the $70 million jet was being towed out of the hanger bay of the USS Harry S. Truman when the crew lost control. Both the jet and the tow tractor went overboard.
An F/A-18 Hornet launches from the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman.
Ricardo Reyes/U.S. Navy, FILES
“The F/A-18E was actively under tow in the hangar bay when the move crew lost control of the aircraft. The aircraft and tow tractor were lost overboard,” the Navy wrote in a statement.
“Sailors towing the aircraft took immediate action to move clear of the aircraft before it fell overboard. An investigation is underway,” the service added.
The USS Harry S. Truman has been operating in the Red Sea since last September when it was deployed to help protect commercial ships against near-constant attacks by Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Officials said recent Houthi attacks directed at the ship had nothing to do with the jet mistakenly rolling off the ship.
Three F/A-18 Hornets fly in formation over the Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman.
Petty Officer 1st Class Jay Pugh/U.S. Navy, FILES
The Truman carrier was involved in another incident earlier this year when it collided with a merchant ship near the Suez Canal. Its commanding officer was subsequently fired.
The carrier was slated to come home last month, but Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth extended its deployment while ordering another carrier — the USS Carl Vinson — to the region to bolster military power.
