US Navy £54m fighter jet accidentally rolls off aircraft carrier and sinks in Red Sea

A huge F/A-18 fighter jet has rolled off a US Navy aircraft carrier into the Red Sea, with a crew member forced into ejecting from the cockpit.

The jet - which costs roughly £54million each - rolled off the USS Harry S. Truman ship's hanger deck, and was lost overboard.

A US Navy statement read: "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. Sailors towing the aircraft took immediate action to move clear of the aircraft before it fell overboard. An investigation is underway."

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The accident happened on Monday as sailors were positioning the Super Hornet jet in the carrier's hanger. The tow was lost, and both the plane and tow tractor plunged into the sea. One crew member suffered minor injuries, it added.

Part of Strike Fighter Squadron 136, the jet's loss highlights the perils that come with routine aeroplane manoeuvring aboard a warship. Both the aviator manning the jet and the operative on the towing tractor managed to escape before the disastrous plunge, officials confirmed.

One sailor, who ejected from the jet, suffered only a minor injury, according to a defence official who relayed the information anonymously.

The Truman, currently deployed for several months in the Middle East and active in increased operations against Yemen's Houthi rebels, is now facing an extended mission, as Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has already added roughly a month to its service duration.

The military has been engaging daily strikes against targets, utilising jets, bombers, ships, and drones. The fate of the fighter jet, now sunken, remains uncertain amid ongoing investigations.

Meanwhile, The USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier was involved in another incident earlier this year, when it collided with a merchant ship in the Suez Canal. Its commanding officer was later fired.

The Truman carrier was involved in another incident earlier this year . Its commanding officer was subsequently fired.

The 100,000-tonne aircraft carrier is understood to have hit the 53,000-tonne merchant ship Besiktas-M; a Panamanian-flagged cargo vessel.

The collision was immediately under investigation. There were no reports of injuries and there was no reported flooding aboard the aircraft carrier.

"The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) was involved in a collision with the merchant vessel Besiktas-M at approximately 11:46 p.m. local time, Feb. 12, while operating in the vicinity of Port Said, Egypt, in the Mediterranean Sea," The US Navy's Sixth Fleet said in a statement.

The Harry S. Truman has an estimated crew of about 5,000 sailors. It is also powered by two- nuclear reactors as well as four propulsion systems, according to .