Navy loses $60M fighter jet from aircraft carrier deck

What happened

The U.S. Navy said Monday that an F/A-18E Super Hornet fighter jet was "lost at sea" after slipping off the deck of the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier, sending the $60 million aircraft into the Red Sea along with a tractor that was towing it into the ship's hanger bay. One sailor sustained "minor injuries" in the accident, the Navy said.

Who said what

"Initial reports from the scene" indicate that the Truman "made a hard turn" to evade incoming fire from Houthi rebels in Yemen, a maneuver that "contributed to the fighter jet falling overboard," CNN said. It was the "second time in just over four months" that the Truman lost an F/A-18, Task & Purpose said. A missile cruiser from the carrier's strike group "accidentally shot down" that fighter jet in December, forcing both pilots to eject. The Truman also "collided with a cargo ship in the eastern Mediterranean Sea near Egypt" in February, leading to the firing of the aircraft carrier's captain, USA Today said.

What next?

The Truman strike group, in the Red Sea as part of President Donald Trump's anti-Houthi operation, and its "embarked air wing" remained "fully mission capable," the Navy said. Houthi-controlled television said a U.S. airstrike Monday hit a prison holding African migrants in Yemen, killing at least 68 people.

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