US F-18 fighter jet falls from aircraft carrier and ends up in the Red Sea, Navy loses $70 million aircraft

A US military F/A-18 fighter jet rolled off an aircraft carrier and sank to the bottom of the Red Sea, the US Navy announced today.

There was one registered crew member on board the aircraft and a second registered crew member inside the vehicle towing the aircraft when the incident occurred.

Both managed to jump in time, with only one person suffering a minor injury, according to US officials, the Telegraph reports.

In the extraordinary accident attributed to human error, the $70 million plane was being towed from the hangar of the USS Harry S. Truman when the crew lost control.

"The F/A-18E was being actively towed into the ship's hangar when the towing crew lost control of the aircraft. The aircraft and towing vehicle were lost at sea," the Navy wrote in a statement.

"The sailors towing the plane took immediate action to remove the aircraft before it crashed into the sea. An investigation is underway," the Navy added.

The USS Harry S. Truman has been operating in the Red Sea since last September, when it was deployed to help protect merchant ships against near-constant attacks by Houthi rebels in Yemen.

The Truman was involved in another incident earlier this year, when it collided with a merchant ship near the Suez Canal. Its commander was subsequently dismissed.

The warship was scheduled to return home last month, but Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth extended its deployment while ordering another warship – the USS Carl Vinson – to the region to bolster military power. /Telegraph