WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A U.S. F-18 fighter jet was lost in the Red Sea on Tuesday after tipping off the flight deck of the Harry S Truman aircraft carrier, in the second such incident in about a week, two U.S. officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The officials said the fighter jet failed to come to a proper halt after landing on the carrier. Both members of the crew ejected before the jet plunged into the water and were recovered by a rescue helicopter, one of the officials said.
The Navy did not have an immediate response.One of the officials said medical evaluations showed the aviators had minor injuries and that no flight deck personnel were injured.
The incident was first reported by CNN.
Last week, another fighter jet fell overboard from the Truman, which has been aiding U.S. strikes against Yemen’s Houthi fighters.
U.S. fighter aircraft cost $60 million or more, and such incidents are rare. The fact that two occurred in such a short time is likely to raise scrutiny of the carrier’s operations.
(Reporting by Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali: Editing by Neil Fullick)
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