Another $60 million US Navy fighter jet has been ‘lost at sea’ – this time during a crash landing as the aircraft was trying to land on the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier.
This marks the second F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet which has been destroyed aboard the Truman in just over a week.
The first Super Hornet reportedly fell overboard late last month while the Truma took a hard turn amid inbound Houthi fire, in a strange incident which could just be a Pentagon cover story.
But as for the second incident, first reported Tuesday night (local US time), CNN writes that “It is not entirely clear what happened yet, as the investigation is ongoing, but two of the people said there was some kind of arrestment failure as the jet was trying to land on the carrier and the pilot and weapons systems officer had to eject.”
“They were recovered by a rescue helicopter and are both alive, but they suffered minor injuries, one of the people said,” the report continues.
Amid the apparent systems failure the aircraft went overboard. “The arrestment failed, causing the aircraft to go overboard. Both aviators safely ejected and were rescued by a helicopter assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 11,” a defense official described. “The aviators were evaluated by medical personnel and assessed to have minor injuries. No flight deck personnel were injured.”
US Naval Institute News further details:
It’s unclear if the arresting wire that stops the aircraft during the carrier landing failed or if the hook on the fighter didn’t catch the wire. It’s also unclear whether the incident fouled the flight deck, interrupting flight operations. As of Tuesday evening, Truman was fully operational, the defense official said.
In total three jets have been recently lost in the Red Sea:
And in December, the missile cruiser USS Gettysburg, part of the Truman’s strike group, shot down a Super Hornet in what the US military described as “an apparent case of friendly fire.” Both aviators ejected safely.
The Houthis had since Red Sea hostilities were renewed in mid-March (in the wake of the Gaza ceasefire collapsing), sent drones and missiles against US warships off Yemen’s coast, particularly the Truman carrier.
This week Israel has joined the US-led coalition’s bombing campaign against the Houthis in Yemen. Israeli jets obliterated Sanaa International Airport, in an operation described as retaliation for the Sunday ballistic missile attack on Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv.
The timing of this second jet loss incident is interesting, given it was revealed the same day that President Donald Trump announced the US would stop strikes against the Houthis.
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The USS Harry S. Truman appears to have performed an emergency turn on April 27th to evade a large-scale Yemeni missile and drone attack. The maneuver was so severe it could have caused the loss of the Super Hornet.If true, this indicates that: pic.twitter.com/MMIDOpcZdw
— Alan (@Alan39982121) April 28, 2025
The Houthis have confirmed there will be a ceasefire in the Red Sea with the United States. The deal was mediated by Oman, and this looks like a ‘mission accomplished’ moment for Trump where he’s ready to grasp onto a way out of the quagmire the US found itself in. Wisely, he is getting the US out, and Israel appears to be stepping up in terms of its own defense.
Mideast war correspondent Elijah Magnier has concluded, “The US intelligently stopped the bombing on Yemen due to the lack of objectives, the empty outcome and the high cost versus no gain.”
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