Splash One Hornet
USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75)
Navy Super Hornet falls overboard as USS Harry Truman makes hard turn during Houthi attack
The aircraft was being towed when the crew lost control of the Super Hornet. Both the plane and the tow tractor fell overboard.
Jeff Schogol
A Navy F/A-18E Super Hornet and a tow tractor fell off the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman on Monday while it was at sea, the service announced. All personnel are accounted for, and one sailor sustained what was described as a “minor injury,” in a Navy news release.
A U.S. official told Task & Purpose that initial reports indicate the mishap occurred as the Truman was making a hard turn amid a Houthi attack. No information about the nature of the threat was immediately available.
Both the Truman and a second aircraft carrier, USS Carl Vinson, are deployed to the Red Sea as part of ongoing operations against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. Since March 15, U.S. forces have attacked more than 800 Houthi targets.
“The F/A-18E was actively under tow in the hangar bay when the move crew lost control of the aircraft,” the news release says. “The aircraft and tow tractor were lost overboard.”
Fortunately no one was injured, but Truman managed to capture this data point already having dumped and then recovered another F/A-18 in the Med not so long ago. Somebody got some ‘splainin to do.
Category: Navy
