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One of the U.S. Navy’s elite air-fighters, an F/A-18 Super Hornet, was lost at sea last week near Naples, Italy, after it was blown overboard by “unexpected” heavy winds, a Navy official said.
In a press release, the Navy said an F/A-18 Super Hornet assigned to the USS Harry S. Truman, an aircraft carrier stationed in the Mediterranean Sea, plunged into the water after “unexpected heavy weather” pushed the fighter jet off the deck.
No one was seriously injured during the incident and the Navy said all personnel assigned to the ship were accounted for.
FILE- An F/A18 “Super Hornet” piloted by Lt. Corey L. Pritchard makes the first carrier landing of the new plane July 24, 2002 onboard the USS Abraham Lincoln.
(Kittie VandenBosch-U.S. Navy/Getty Images)
“One Sailor received minor injuries while conducting operations during the unexpected heavy weather. The sailor is in stable condition and expected to make a full recovery,” the statement added.
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The Super Hornet is estimated to cost around $57 million.
FILE- The USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier arrives at the French Mediterranean port of Marseille.
(Gerard Bottino/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
The Navy said that the fighter jet saw its first operational use in 2002 when it enforced the “no-fly” zone in Iraq. The fighter jet carries a M61A1/A2 Vulcan 20mm cannon, can reach speeds of Mach 1.8, and is primarily used in fighter escort and fleet air defense missions.
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FILE- An F/A-18E Super Hornet launches from one of four steam powered catapults on the flight deck aboard USS Abraham Lincoln.
(Tyler J. Clements/U.S. Navy/Getty Images)
The Navy said the USS Harry S. Truman and its aircraft “remain full mission capable.”
Details surrounding the cause of the incident are still being investigated.
