The US Navy has lost a second fighter jet in just eight days after a £45 million F/A-18F Super Hornet crashed into the Red Sea. Two pilots were injured after the aircraft went overboard the USS Harry S. Truman carrier during a botched landing on Tuesday, people familiar with the matter told CNN. An investigation into the incident has been launched after the servicemen – one pilot and one weapons systems officer – were forced to hit the eject button to save themselves.
They were subsequently rescued by a rescue helicopter, only sustaining minor injuries, but the jet has not yet been recovered. The F/A-18F Super Hornet’s tail hook failed to catch the wire, known as a failed arrestment, which slows it down. Instead, the jet continued to power forward and plummet into the sea.
This comes less than 10 days after another F/A-18 jet crashed into the sea from the Truman as it made a sharp turn to escape fire from the Houthi rebels.
This is not the first time the US Navy has faced attacks from the Iran-backed group, who began targeting ships in the Red Sea in November 2023.
Early last year, a US destroyer in the region came within one mile of a Houthi cruise missile, forcing it to engage its Phalanx Close-In Weapon System – its last line of defence.
In December, an F/A-18 jet on the Truman was “mistakenly fired” upon by the USS Gettysburg, causing it to crash into the Red Sea.
Two months later, the Truman got into a collision with a merchant ship in the Mediterranean Sea near Egypt.
The repeated incidents resulted in Captain Dave Snowden, commander of the Truman, being relieved of his duty and replaced by Captain Christopher Hill.