Two U.S. Navy pilots ejected while attempting to land a fighter jet on an aircraft carrier on Tuesday, resulting in the aircraft being lost in the Red Sea, the second such incident in a week, Department of Defense officials said.
An F/A-18F Super Hornet, attached to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 11, was landing on the flight deck of USS Harry S. Truman “when the arrestment failed, causing the aircraft to go overboard,” the official told Fox News Digital.
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This image shows an aircraft launching from the USS Harry S. Truman in the Red Sea before airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen, on March 15. (U.S. Navy via AP)
Both pilots in the aircraft ejected and were rescued. The warplane went overboard into the sea and has not been recovered.
“The aviators were evaluated by medical personnel and assessed to have minor injuries. No flight deck personnel were injured,” the official said.
The incident occurred just over a week after another F/A-18F Super Hornet went overboard on the USS Truman.
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The USS Harry S. Truman at sea. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Jose Hernandez)
The $67.4 million aircraft was lost when it was actively under tow in a hangar bay when the crew lost control of the aircraft.
Sailors towing the aircraft took “immediate action” to move clear of the aircraft before it fell overboard, the Navy said.
At the time, officials said the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group, a coalition of U.S. warships deployed to the Red Sea, and an air wing remained fully mission-capable.
Armed rebels of the Iran-backed Houthi militia. (Osamah Yahya/picture alliance via Getty Images | REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah)
The strike group comprises the Truman aircraft carrier and nine squadrons of Carrier Air Wing 1, three guided-missile destroyers of Destroyer Squadron 28, and the Ticonderoga-class cruiser USS Gettysburg.
The carrier has been operating in the Red Sea, where it has launched strikes against Iran-backed Houthi terrorists based in Yemen. On Tuesday, Trump announced a ceasefire with the terror group.
