A US Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet has been lost at sea after it fell overboard from the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier while it was being towed on board, the Navy said in a statement on Monday.
A US official said initial reports from the scene indicated the Truman made a hard turn to evade Houthi fire, which contributed to the fighter jet falling overboard. Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed on Monday to have launched a drone and missile attack on the aircraft carrier, which is in the Red Sea as part of the US military’s major operation against the Iran-backed group.
All personnel aboard are accounted for, and one sailor sustained a minor injury, the Navy said.
Trump administration offers tribute to mighty Poseidon thanking him for fair winds, calm seas and big water. The President was quoted as saying:
“This is the greatest tribute in the history of tributes, not even Odysseus could have offered what we offered. Tremendous. We’re gonna make America’s oceans and seas and yes, even the beautiful Gulf of America Great Again. This F-18 is the first step in improving relations with Poseidon. Great guy, in fact. Not many people see it because of all the drownings and shipwrecks but behind closed doors he’s a very different person and he runs a tight ship, the ocean is respected and we need to start taking notes from him. Joe Biden didn’t normalize relationships with Atlantis, but I did. Sleepy Joe and Kamala couldn’t do it but I am the first President in 227 years to even get a meeting.”