USS Truman Aircraft Carrier loses $ 60 million on the combat plane at the Red Sea, says Navy

The USS Harry S. Truman lost a Super Hornet F/A-18E combat plane that was being towed on Monday at the Red Sea, said the Navy.

The combat plane escaped from the hangar carbon roof, deployed in the Middle East, while the sailors were towing the plane in their place in the Hangar Bay, said the Navy.

Two American officials say that the initial reports suggest that the plane may have fallen byboard after the carrier turned sharply while taking evasive measures against Houthi rebels based in Yemen.

The crew members who were in the super hornet pilot seat and in the small towing tractor jumped before the jet and tugboat entered the Red Sea. A sailor suffered a minor injury, and all the staff is counted, said the Navy. An investigation is underway.

“The F/A-18E was actively towed in the Hangar Bay when the movement crew lost control of the plane. The plane and the towing tractor were lost byboard,” said the Navy in a statement. The plane was part of the Strike 136 combat squad.

“The sailors who towed the plane took immediate measures to get away from the aircraft before it fell down the board,” said the Navy.

Combat aircraft are routinely towed around the hangar cover to park them where they are needed for any flight operation or other work. It is not clear if there will be an effort to recover the plane. F/A-18ES costs more than $ 60 million, according to the Navy.

The Truman has been deployed in the Middle East for months and has recently been involved in intensified military operations against the hutis. The central command of the United States has said that the military has made daily strikes, which have been made by combat aircraft, bombers, ships and drones.

The deployment of Truman has already been extended once by defense secretary Pete Hegseth for approximately one month.

In February, the aircraft carrier I was in a collision with a merchant ship In the Mediterranean Sea near the entrance to the Suez Canal in Egypt. There were no reports of injuries or floods after the collision, said a Navy spokesman in a statement. Captain Dave Snowden, who was in charge of the USS Truman at the time of the collision, Then he was fired.

The USS Harry S. Truman is the ninth carrier of nuclear airplanes of the Navy and was launched on September 13, 1996, according to the branch. The 1,092 feet ship can travel more than 30 knots per hour, can transport around 90 airplanes and can accommodate more than 6,000 crew members.

The Navy said Monday that the group of aircraft carrier and its air wing “are still totally capable of the mission.”

Eleanor Watson contributed to this report.

In:
• Combat jet
• Red Sea
• United States Navy
• Middle East