The U.S. Navy announced on Monday (April 28th) that an F/A-18E Super Hornet fighter jet flipped over from the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt and crashed into the Red Sea. At the time of the accident, there was one soldier in the fighter jet and another soldier inside a tow vehicle.
According to officials, both individuals were able to eject from the fighter jet and tow vehicle in time, with only one sustaining minor injuries.
In this unusual incident, the $60 million fighter jet lost control as aircraft handlers were towing it out of the hangar bay on the Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier.
“The F/A-18E fighter jet was being actively towed inside the hangar when the towing crew lost control of the aircraft. Both the aircraft and the tow vehicle went into the water,” the U.S. Navy said in a statement.
“The personnel towing the aircraft took immediate action and escaped before the aircraft went into the water. An investigation is currently underway,” the Navy added.
The U.S. Navy carrier Theodore Roosevelt has been deployed to the Red Sea since September last year to assist in protecting commercial vessels from ongoing attacks by Houthi rebels in Yemen.
It is currently unclear what caused the aircraft handlers to lose control of the aircraft on the carrier. The carrier had previously been targeted by Houthi rebel attacks. A U.S. official suggested that preliminary reports indicate the sudden movement of the aircraft carrier due to Houthi fire may have been a factor in the incident.
A U.S. official also told CNN that initial reports at the scene suggest that the Theodore Roosevelt made a sharp turn to evade Houthi fire, leading to the fighter jet crashing into the sea. The Houthi rebels claimed on Monday that they conducted drone and missile attacks on the U.S. aircraft carrier located in the Red Sea.
However, these reports have not been confirmed during the ongoing investigation.
The U.S. Navy emphasized on Monday that the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group and its carrier air wing “remain fully capable of carrying out their missions.”
Earlier this year, the Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier collided with a merchant ship near the Suez Canal, following which the carrier’s commanding officer was relieved of duty.
The Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier was originally scheduled to return to the U.S. last month, but Defense Secretary Hagues extended the deployment of the carrier while ordering another carrier, the USS Carl Vinson, to the region to strengthen military presence.