Jet overboard: US Navy loses £49m Super Hornet as it falls off aircraft carrier

A US Navy F/A-18E Super Hornet and tow tractor have fallen off the deck of the USS Harry S Truman while the carrier was operating in the Red Sea.

The aircraft was under tow in the hangar bay when the movement crew lost control of the plane and, subsequently, the £49m fighter jet and the tow tractor went overboard.

All personnel have been accounted for, with one sailor sustaining a minor injury.

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The sailors who moved the aircraft made sure to get out of the way before the jet went into the water.

"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," the US Navy said in a statement.

"Sailors towing the aircraft took immediate action to move clear of the aircraft before it fell overboard."

The Nimitz-class carrier was allegedly manoeuvring during a Houthi missile attack, according to CNN.

An investigation has been launched into the incident.

Despite losing an expensive fighter jet, the USS Harry S Truman Carrier Strike Group (CSG) and embarked air wing remain fully mission-capable.

It comes amid the CSG's continued operations against the Iranian-backed Houthis in the Red Sea.

The CSG is made up of the flagship Harry S Truman, nine squadrons of Carrier Air Wing 1, three-guided missile destroyers of Destroyer Squadron 28 and the Ticonderoga-class cruiser USS Gettysburg.

Australia and Kuwait operate the F/A-18 Super Hornet, along with the United States.