The United States Navy lost a second fighter jet on the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier in the Red Sea, one week after losing another fighter jet in the same location.
It is not yet entirely clear what happened, as the investigation is ongoing, but according to CNN, there was a failure in the arrest mechanism when the fighter jet was attempting to land on the aircraft carrier, and the pilot and weapons systems officer had to eject.
The occupants were rescued by a helicopter and both are alive, but they suffered minor injuries, the network indicated.
The combat plane was an F/A-18 Super Hornet, a fighter jet valued at over 60 million dollars, according to the Navy.
When did the other plane fall from an aircraft carrier?
On April 28, the Navy lost the same model of combat aircraft when it fell overboard from the same aircraft carrier, the USS Harry S. Truman, during operations in the Red Sea.
“The aircraft and the towing vehicle went overboard,” the Navy specified, also detailing that a sailor “suffered a minor injury.”
On March 15th, a campaign of unprecedented bombings was initiated by order of Donald Trump, with the declared objective of destroying the military capabilities of the Houthi rebels in Yemen.
The insurgents, on their part, denounce that these attacks have targeted civilian objectives and caused the death of around 200 people.
The USS Harry S. Truman is part of the contingent deployed to the Middle East to neutralize the Houthis and is currently located in the Red Sea.
Ceasefire with the Houthis
The Houthi rebels in Yemen agreed to join the ceasefire announced yesterday by Donald Trump, who said to have reached an agreement with the insurgents in exchange for them halting their attacks in the Red Sea.
The spokesman for the Houthis, Mohamed Abdelsalam, indicated that if Washington “fulfills its part” of the agreement, the rebels will also refrain from attacking American targets in the area.