All at sea: US Navy loses another £49m Super Hornet fighter jet from same carrier

The US Navy has allegedly lost a second F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet at sea from an aircraft carrier in the Red Sea.

There was an arrestment failure when the £49m fighter jet was attempting to land on the USS Harry S Truman, and the pilot and the weapons systems officers were forced to eject, according to news organisation CNN.

It was reported that the pair were rescued by a helicopter, with both suffering minor injuries.

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The fighter jet fell into the sea and has not been taken back on board the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier.

An investigation is ongoing, and the US Navy has yet to confirm the incident.

This latest accident follows another last week when a US Navy F/A-18E Super Hornet and a tow tractor went overboard from the deck of the same aircraft carrier.

The jet, which can reach Mach 1.6, was under tow in the hangar bay when the movement crew lost control of the plane, and, subsequently, the fighter jet and the tow tractor fell into the sea.  

Australia and Kuwait use the F/A-18 Super Hornet, as does the United States.

Finnish Air Force Hornet crashes

Meanwhile, the Finnish Air Force (FAF) has said one of its F/A-18 Hornets crashed at Rovaniemi Air Base.

The pilot was rescued from the ejection seat with minor injuries, the FAF said, and he was later discharged from hospital.

The Lapland Air Command pilot was taking part in a display flight exercise where the pilot trains aerobatic manoeuvres that are involved in the Hornet display flight.

The FAF said the plane came down to the ground and then skidded towards an area where F-35s are being built.

"The plane crashed to the ground on the edge of the runway area, from where it drifted to the corner of the F-35 construction site, which is part of the Lapland Air Command base, where there were no buildings or people," the FAF added.

"Quickly after the crash, the rescue units of both the Lapland Air Command and Finavia were at the scene of the accident.

"The fuselage of the plane was on fire when rescue units arrived. Rescue units immediately began extinguishing the fire."

The airport continued to work as normal after the incident.