An F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet fell off the USS Harry S. Truman on Monday while the aircraft carrier was operating in the Red Sea, leaving a sailor hurt, the US Navy said.
The F/A-18E, which is estimated to cost roughly $60 million, was actively under tow in Truman's hangar bay — an area underneath the flight deck where aircraft receive maintenance — when the move crew "lost control" of the fighter aircraft. The plane then fell overboard alongside the tow tractor.
"Sailors towing the aircraft took immediate action to move clear of the aircraft before it fell overboard," the Navy said, adding in a statement that one sailor received minor injuries and that an investigation was underway.
"The Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group and embarked air wing remain fully mission capable," the Navy said.
The Truman is one of two US Navy aircraft carriers that are launching aircraft for daily strikes against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen. The US military began an intense bombing campaign against the rebels on March 15 and has struck hundreds of targets in the weeks since.
Earlier on Monday, the Houthis said they launched missiles and drones at the Truman and the warships in its strike group, adding that the attack forced the carrier to turn around. Business Insider couldn't immediately verify these details.
A defense official told BI that "very few details can be provided currently as the incident is under investigation," adding that the crew was safe and accounted for.
The loss of a Super Hornet this week marks the second time during its involvement in the Red Sea conflict that the Truman strike group has lost one of the air wing's F/A-18s.
In late December, the guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg accidentally shot down a Super Hornet in what the military described as "an apparent case of friendly fire."
