U.S. Jet Fighter Is Lost Overboard in Latest Mishap Involving Aircraft Carrier - WSJ
A jet fighter fell off the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman and sank Monday when the ship made a sharp turn, defense officials said, the strike group’s third mishap during its extended deployment in the Middle East.
“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 said. One sailor was injured, according to the statement.
For more than a month, the carrier strike group has been part of the daily U.S. bombing campaign in Yemen, targeting the Houthis militants in response to their attacks on commercial and military ships transiting the Red Sea and other nearby waters. It is unclear whether the heightened pace of operations was a factor in the lost aircraft Monday, defense officials said.
An F/A-18 costs about $70 million per plane.
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Monday’s incident was the third mishap for the Truman strike group, which has been operating in the Middle East since the fall. In February, the vessel collided with a merchant ship near Port Said, Egypt, damaging both the aircraft carrier and the Panamanian-flagged Besiktas-M. The Navy fired the strike group commander days afterward.
In December, the USS Gettysburg, a guided-missile cruiser that is among the ships accompanying the Truman, mistakenly shot down an F/A-18F Super Hornet flying from the carrier over the Red Sea. The two pilots on that Super Hornet were recovered, the Navy said.
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