American military plane crashes into the Red Sea, the second in 10 days

A U.S. military plane crashed into the Red Sea on Tuesday while landing on an aircraft carrier, lightly injuring two pilots, reported several American media outlets. This marks the second such incident in about ten days. The aircraft, an F/A-18 F, was unable to slow down while trying to land aboard the aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman and subsequently fell into the sea, according to CNN, the Washington Post and several other American media outlets. Contacted by AFP for confirmation, the Pentagon did not immediately respond.

The tailhook on the combat aircraft was unable to catch the arresting wire, resulting in the aircraft's crash into the sea, according to an online article from the United States Naval Institute journal, citing a U.S. defense official. Both pilots ejected and suffered "minor injuries," according to the same source. On April 28, another fighter jet fell from the aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman into the Red Sea, injuring one sailor. The aircraft, a Boeing F/A-18 E fighter, cost $67 million in 2021.

In December, another F/A-18 was mistakenly shot down by a missile fired from an American cruiser, according to the military. The two pilots survived.

The Harry S. Truman is one of the two American aircraft carriers operating in the Middle East. The U.S. has been bombing the Houthis since March 15 to try to curb the threat they posed to merchant ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. On Tuesday, the Omani mediator stated that Washington and the Houthis had reached a ceasefire agreement after President Donald Trump announced the cessation of American strikes against these insurgents.