Latest news with #aviators
Times
11-05-2025
- Politics
- Times
How RAF pilots are facing down Russian threats on the Nato border
Soaring thousands of feet above Nato's Baltic border with Russia, British fighter pilots are acutely aware that one false move could trigger a global conflict. 'It would be very easy, if I waved, to fold up my hand into this [a middle finger], and then that goes out on the news and suddenly it's an international incident,' a plucky Royal Air Force pilot said as he described intercepting a Kremlin spyplane in his Typhoon jet. The flight lieutenant, 32, is among a handful of aviators from II (AC) Squadron who have been given the task of tracking down and deterring aircraft that encroach on alliance airspace. Speaking to The Times from the tarmac of Malbork airbase in Poland — about 50 miles from Kaliningrad oblast,
The National
07-05-2025
- General
- The National
Another US fighter jet falls into the Red Sea
A second US fighter jet has tumbled from an aircraft carrier into the Red Sea, an official said on Wednesday, just over a week after another plane went overboard. On Tuesday, an F/A-18F Super Hornet was landing on the flight deck of the USS Harry S Truman when the hook-and-wire arrest mechanism to slow it down failed, causing the aircraft to go into the sea. 'Both aviators safely ejected and were rescued by the search and rescue helicopter attached to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 11,' a defence official said in a statement. 'The aviators were evaluated by medical personnel and assessed to have minor injuries. No flight deck personnel were injured.' The incident comes after another Super Hornet – which cost about $70 million each – fell off the Truman on April 28 when the crew that was towing it in the hanger lost control of the plane. One sailor sustained a minor injury in that incident, when a tow tractor was also lost overboard. Late last year, another F/A-18 operating off the Truman was lost after it was mistakenly shot down by the USS Gettysburg guided missile cruiser. Both crew survived that incident. And in February, the Truman itself suffered damage when it collided with a merchant vessel in the Mediterranean Sea near Egypt's Port Said. In addition to the lost warplanes and damage, a US official said last week that seven MQ-9 Reaper drones – which cost around $30 million apiece – had been lost in the Yemen area since March 15. The Truman is one of two US aircraft carriers operating in the seas around the Middle East. US forces have been bombing Yemen's Houthi rebels since mid-March. But President Donald Trump on Tuesday said the Houthis had ' capitulated ' and the US would stop bombing them.
BBC News
07-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Second US fighter jet falls into Red Sea from Truman aircraft carrier
Second US fighter jet falls overboard from Truman aircraft carrier Just now Share Save Share Save Getty Images The latest mishap involving an expensive Super Hornet is under investigation For the second time in just eight days, a US fighter jet has been lost to the Red Sea after falling from the USS Harry S Truman aircraft carrier, US officials say. An F/A-18F Super Hornet was attempting to land on the Truman's flight deck on Tuesday when a manoeuvre failed, "causing the aircraft to go overboard", an official told the BBC's US partner CBS News. The two pilots inside the aircraft ejected, and sustained minor injuries in the incident. The jets themselves are reportedly worth tens of millions of dollars each. "Both aviators safely ejected and were rescued by a helicopter assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 11," the official told CBS. It comes after another Super Hornet went overboard into the same sea last Monday in a separate incident. It was "under tow in the hangar bay when the move crew lost control of the aircraft", a US Navy statement said. A sailor sustained minor injuries, and a tractor that had been towing the aircraft was also pulled into the water. During the second incident, officials said there was a failure of an arrestment - referring to a cable that is used to help slow down a jet as it lands. The incident is still under investigation, and the aircraft has yet to be recovered. The jet may have tipped overboard after the aircraft carrier made a sharp turn while taking evasive action against Houthi militants in Yemen, US officials told CBS. Just hours earlier on Tuesday, President Donald Trump announced that the US would stop attacking the Iran-backed Houthis if the group stopped targeting shipping in the Red Sea. The Truman has been involved in several incidents in its Red Sea deployment, including last December, when the USS Gettysburg mistakenly shot down another F/A-18 fighter jet that was operating from the carrier. Both pilots survived.
News24
07-05-2025
- Politics
- News24
Pilots eject as second US jet falls into the Red Sea after failed aircraft carrier landing
An F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter jet fell into the Red Sea. It failed to slow down after landing on the Harry S Truman aircraft carrier. It is the second US plane lost in just over a week. A multi-million-dollar US warplane failed to land on the Harry S Truman aircraft carrier and plummeted into the Red Sea on Tuesday, the US military said, the second jet lost from the ship in just over a week. The two-seat F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter jet, worth around $67 million, went overboard after an unsuccessful attempt to slow it down as it landed, the US Central Command said. A defence official told AFP the hook of the aircraft failed to catch the arresting wire on the aircraft carrier. 'The arrestment failed, causing the aircraft to go overboard,' the official said. The official added: 'Both aviators safely ejected and were rescued by the search and rescue helicopter.' 'The aviators were evaluated by medical personnel and assessed to have minor injuries. No flight deck personnel were injured.' It is the second F/A-18 operating off the Truman to be lost in just over a week. Another jet fell off the same carrier on 28 April in an accident that injured one sailor, and also dragged a tractor that was towing the fighter plane into the sea. And late in 2024, a F/A-18 operating off the Truman was lost after it was mistakenly shot down by the USS Gettysburg guided missile cruiser. Both pilots survived that incident. The Truman is one of two US aircraft carriers operating in the Middle East, where US forces have been hammering Yemen's Houthi rebels with strikes since mid-March in an attempt to end the threat they pose to ships in the region. Mediator Oman said on Tuesday the US and the Houthis had agreed a ceasefire. Reuters reported that the ceasefire deal between Yemen's Houthis and the US does not include sparing Israel, the group said on Wednesday, suggesting its shipping attacks that have disrupted global trade and challenged world powers will not come to a complete halt. US President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday the US would stop bombing the Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen, saying that the group had agreed to stop attacking US ships.
The Independent
07-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Another $60M US Navy jet falls off USS Harry Truman and is lost at sea
A second U.S. Army jet from the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier has been lost in the Red Sea, the second jet to be lost from the carrier in just 8 days, sources have said. The pilot and weapons systems officer were forced to eject after officials said the F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet failed to catch the wire at 9:45 p.m. Tuesday and suffered an arrestment failure as it attempted to land on the carrier. Both aviators survived the incident but suffered minor injuries, said several people familiar with the matter to CNN. The carrier, which is usually stationed at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, was deployed in the Red Sea eight months ago to defend against threats to shipping vessels by the Iran-backed Houthi rebel group. Based on initial reporting, an official said the tail hook failed to catch the wire, slowing down the aircraft. The aircraft continued to accelerate toward the bow and subsequently plunged into the water, according to NBC News. The jet has still not been recovered after the crash, and an investigation is underway. Just over a week prior, another fighter jet, an F/A-18E Super Hornet worth $67 million, fell into the water from the carrier and was considered lost. A U.S. Navy statement on 28 April said: '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,' a statement read on April 28. One sailor sustained a minor injury. 'Sailors towing the aircraft took immediate action to move clear of the aircraft before it fell overboard. An investigation is underway,' it continued. Meanwhile, CNN sources said that the Houthis 'took a shot' at the Truman Tuesday, despite President Donald Trump announcing a ceasefire with the group hours earlier. "[The Houthis] just don't want to fight, and we will honour that and we will stop the bombings, and they have capitulated," Trump said, while he sat alongside Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in the White House. Officials have not said whether the missing jet incidents are related. The Houthi rebels began hijacking commercial ships in November 2023 and have since managed to sink two vessels, seize a third, and kill four crew members. US-led naval forces have managed to thwart several attacks.
