Aircraft are parked on the flight deck of the USS Harry S. Truman on May 11, 2022. (Alison Bath/Stars and Stripes)
NAPLES, Italy — A US Navy Super Hornet assigned to an aircraft carrier sailing in the Mediterranean Sea was blown off the deck of the ship last week in heavy weather, the Navy said on Sunday.
A Sailor was slightly injured in operations aboard the USS Harry S. Truman during an unexpected brief period of intense winds and heavy rain Friday morning but was in stable condition and awaiting a full recovery, the U.S. 6th Fleet said in a statement . This incident was unrelated to the F/A-18 Super Hornet going overboard and all other personnel were accounted for, Cmdr. Richlyn Ivey, a spokeswoman for the US 6th Fleet.
No one was on board the aircraft and no personnel were in the immediate vicinity when the aircraft exploded off the ship’s deck. A resolve to recover the plane is being reviewed, Ivey said. The aircraft was assigned to Carrier Air Wing 1.
It was not clear where the Truman was in the Mediterranean when the incident occurred, but USNI News reported on July 7 that the ship was in the Ionian Sea.
Truman conducted an at-sea replenishment with the USNS Robert E. Peary and the USNS Supply, which the statement said was safely completed. The weather forecast was not expected to affect recovery, Ivey said.
“The USS Harry S. Truman and embarked aircraft remain fully operational,” the U.S. 6th Fleet said in the statement. Details and cause of the incident are being investigated, the statement said.
The Truman carriers’ strike force was deployed to the Mediterranean in December amid concerns over a build-up of Russian troops and military equipment along the border with Ukraine. Russia then launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
Since then, the Truman has supported training and patrol flights in Eastern Europe and has sailed in the Ionian and Adriatic Seas. It has also called at several ports, most recently in Marseille, France, on June 18.
In addition to CVW 1, the battle group includes the cruiser USS San Jacinto and Destroyer Squadron 28. The Truman is expected to remain in the Mediterranean until at least August.