OAN Staff Blake Wolf
4:01 PM – Monday, April 28, 2025
An F/A-18E U.S. fighter jet slipped off the side of the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier, causing it to sink into the Red Sea on Monday, in a $56 million blunder.
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The incident occurred after the jet was being towed out of a hanger when the tow tractor lost control. It’s currently unclear as to why or how the crew lost control of the jet, although initial field reporting implied that a sudden shift of the carrier due to a Houthi attack may have played a role.
Both the crew on the tractor and the aircraft jumped prior to the aircraft plunging into the Red Sea, with the sailor on the aircraft sustaining a minor injury from the incident, according to a press release.
“USS Harry S. Truman lost an F/A18-E Super Hornet assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron 136 and a tow tractor as the aircraft carrier operated in the Red Sea, April 28. All personnel are accounted for, with one Sailor sustaining a minor injury,” the Navy stated.
“The F/A-18E was actively under tow in the hangar bay when the move crew lost control of the aircraft. The aircraft and tow tractor were lost overboard,” the statement continued. “Sailors towing the aircraft took immediate action to move clear of the aircraft before it fell overboard. An investigation is underway.”
The Truman has been deployed to the Middle East for months in response to the Yemen-based Houthi terror group attacking commercial vessels in the Red Sea, which they claim is out of solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza.
The vessel was scheduled to return last month, however Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth extended its deployment by around a month while dispatching the USS Carl Vinson towards the region.
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