The United States Navy has announced that an F/A-18 combat plane left the side of an aircraft carrier and sank to the bottom of the Red Sea.
The incident involved a member of the enlisted crew aboard the plane and a second member of the crew enlisted inside the tractor at that time.
According to officials, both staff were able to jump over time, and only one suffered a minor injury.
The extraordinary setback, which has been attributed to human error, occurred while the $ 70 million plane was being taken from the Hangar of the Uss Harry S. Truman when the crew lost control.
“The F/A-18E was actively under the trailer in the Hangar Bay when the Move team lost control of the plane. The plane and the towing tractor were lost byboard,” the Navy wrote in a statement.
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“The sailors who towed the plane took immediate measures to get away from the aircraft before falling down the board. An investigation is being carried out,” the service added.
The USS Harry S. Truman has been operating in the Red Sea since last September, when it was deployed to help protect commercial ships from almost constant attacks of huti rebels in Yemen.
According to ABC's news, the authorities confirmed that the recent Houthi attacks aimed at the ship had no connection with the incident that involved the combat plane.
Earlier this year, the Truman carrier was involved in another incident when he crashed with a merchant ship near the Suez Canal, which led to the dismissal of his commanding officer.
The ship had been scheduled to return home last month, but Defense Secretary Pete Hegesh extended his deployment while sending another carrier, the USS Carl Vinson, to the region to strengthen the military presence.
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