F/A-18E warplane lost at sea from US carrier, investigation underway

• A US warplane worth US$100 million fell off the Harry S. Truman into the Red Sea.
• A towing tractor also slipped off, injuring one sailor; all personnel are accounted for.
• The incident is under investigation, with the carrier and its planes remaining operational.

A multimillion-dollar US warplane fell off the Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier into the Red Sea on Monday in an accident that injured one sailor, the US Navy said.

A tractor that was towing the fighter plane – a model that cost around US$100 million – also slipped off the ship into the sea.

“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 said in a statement.

An F/A-18E. Photo / File

“Sailors towing the aircraft took immediate action to move clear of the aircraft before it fell overboard,” it said.

“All personnel are accounted for, with one sailor sustaining a minor injury.”

The carrier and its other planes remain in action and the incident is under investigation, the Navy added.

No details of recovery work were released. It is the second F/A-18 operating off the Truman to be lost in less than six months, after another was mistakenly shot down by the USS Gettysburg guided missile cruiser late last year in an incident that both pilots survived.

The Truman is one of two US aircraft carriers operating in the Middle East, where US forces have been hammering Yemen’s Houthi rebels with strikes since mid-March in an attempt to end the threat they pose to ships in the region.

- Agence France-Presse –