An F/A 18 was landing on the USS Harry Truman Tuesday when an arrestment cable broke, causing the jet to plunge into the Red Sea.
Navy aircraft have a hook to catch what’s called the wire, which slows the planes down so they land safely on the carrier’s short runway.
According to a defense official, the aviators on board ejected safely. The crew was picked up by a search and rescue team from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 11, based in Norfolk.
The aviators are from a Virginia Beach-based Strike Fighter Squadron 11. The pilot and weapons officer suffered minor injuries, and no flight deck crew were injured on board the carrier, according to the official.
“The Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group remains fully mission-capable,” said Sean Parnell, chief Pentagon spokesman, in a statement published on X.
The carrier was not under attack from Houthi rebels in Yemen. The accident is under investigation, he said.
The accident comes eight days after another fighter from the USS Truman fell overboard while being moved through the ship's hangar bay. The pilot of the single-seat F/A 18 and the driver of a tow vehicle jumped before the equipment slipped over the side of the carrier.
A third fighter jet from the carrier group was lost when it was accidentally targeted by the strike group in December. The cruiser USS Gettysburg locked onto an F/A 18 with a missile, forcing the pilot to eject.
Though no one has been seriously injured in any of the incidents, an F/A 18 costs roughly $60 million. Though the planes have been replaced on the west coast by the newer F-35C stealth fighters, F/A 18s remain the standard for carriers deployed from Norfolk.
The Truman was also sidelined in February when it collided with a commercial ship in the eastern Mediterranean as the Navy ship prepared to enter the Suez Canal.
The USS Truman left Norfolk in September. During most of its deployment it has been part of a campaign to protect commercial ships in the area around the Red Sea, which have been the target of Houthi drones and missile attacks.
Tuesday, President Donald Trump announced the U.S. was ending a campaign to target Houthi positions in Yemen, though few details of the ceasefire have been made available since the announcement.
