US Navy successfully recovers F/A-18E Super Hornet from Mediterranean Sea
The US Navy has said that it has recovered a sunken F/A-18E Super Hornet that blew off the deck of an aircraft carrier and into the Mediterranean Sea last month.
In a statement, the US Navy said that it had "successfully recovered" the aircraft last week from a depth of around 9,500ft.
The aircraft was recovered using by a team aboard the multi-purpose construction ship Everest using a remote-operated vehicle.
Using the CURV-21 remotely operated vehicle they attached specialised rigging and lift lines to the aircraft before using a lifting hook to raise the aircraft from the water and aboard the Everest, the Navy said.
"The rapid response of the combined team, including SUPSALV (Supervisor of Salvage and Diving) and Phoenix International personnel, allowed us to conduct safe recovery operations within 27 days of the incident," Lieutenant Commander Miguel Lewis, US Sixth Fleet salvage officer, said in the statement.
The Sixth Fleet salvage officer who helped recover the aircraft added: "Our task-tailored team operated safely and efficiently to meet the timeline.
"The search and recovery took less than 24 hours, a true testament to the team's dedication and capability".
The jet, according to the US Navy in July, blew overboard the USS Harry S. Truman because of "unexpected heavy weather" in the Mediterranean.
This incident marks the third time in less than a year a Western navy has lost a carrier-based fighter jet to the sea and then been compelled to deploy additional assets to recover it.
Watch: Wreckage of UK F-35 jet pulled out of Mediterranean.
In November last year, a UK F-35 jet from HMS Queen Elizabeth crashed during flying operations over the Mediterranean.
The Lightning aircraft, worth about £88.8m, was later recovered in a similar operation.
Then in January, seven US sailors were injured following a US F-35 combat aircraft crash on the deck of a nuclear-powered US aircraft carrier.
The cause of what a US Navy statement called at the time when under investigation an "inflight mishap".
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