An F/A-18E/F Super Hornet embarked aboard the USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) aircraft carrier was blown overboard on July 8 due to heavy weather, the Navy said on July 10.
CVN-75 was dealing with “unexpected heavy weather in the Mediterranean Sea” while conducting a replenishment-at-sea when the aircraft was blown into the water.
The service said the replenishment was “safely terminated through established procedures” and no personnel were lost in the incident.
The Navy noted one sailor had minor injuries during operations is in stable condition and expected to make a full recovery.
Despite losing an aircraft, the Navy noted CVN-75 and its aircraft remain full mission capable while the details and cause of the coincident are under investigation.
This incident comes a month after the Navy directed all non-deployed Navy aviation units to conduct a safety pause in the wake of a series of Navy and Marine Corps aircraft crashes. Deployed units did not have to immediately participate in the pause but had to conduct their version “at the earliest possible opportunity” (Defense Daily, June 13).
In June a pilot died when a Boeing [BA] F/A-18E Super Hornet crashed near Trona, Calif., during a routine training mission (Defense Daily, June 6).
Last October, another Super Hornet crashed in Death Valley National Park, with that pilot surviving. (Defense Daily, Oct. 8, 2021).