The United States Navy has announced that an F/A-18 fighter jet rolled off the side of an aircraft carrier and sank to the bottom of the Red Sea.
The incident involved one enlisted crew member aboard the jet and a second enlisted crew member inside the tractor at the time.
According to officials, both personnel were able to jump clear in time, with only one sustaining a minor injury.
The extraordinary mishap, which has been attributed to human error, occurred while the $70 million jet was being towed out of the hangar bay of the USS Harry S. Truman when the crew lost control.
“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 from near-constant attacks by Houthi rebels in Yemen.
According to the ABC News, officials confirmed that recent Houthi attacks directed at the ship had no connection to the incident involving the fighter jet.
Earlier this year, the Truman carrier was involved in another incident when it collided with a merchant ship near the Suez Canal, leading to the dismissal of its commanding officer.
The vessel had been scheduled to return home last month, but Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth extended its deployment while dispatching another carrier, the USS Carl Vinson, to the region to strengthen military presence.
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