More than two months after falling from an aircraft carrier and sinking in the waters of the Mediterranean Sea, an F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter is being flown back to the US. The Navy aircraft suffered extensive damage to the fuselage.
The accident occurred on July 08 and left a sailor with minor injuries. The aircraft was aboard the nuclear aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman and crashed into the sea due to unexpected weather conditions. The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier was being refueled by another ship when the supersonic fighter jet fell off the deck.
Almost a month later, the Navy managed to rescue the fighter from the bottom of the sea, at a depth of almost 9500 feet (about 2,8 km). The details of this operation can be checked in this matter. The plane is an F/A-18E Super Hornet, belonging to Esquadro de Caça e Attack 211 (VFA-211 Flying Checkmates) and was initially taken to the port of Augusta, Italy.
An image taken by The Aviationist shows that the plane suffered damage to the F414 engine nozzles, rudders, horizontal stabilizers and canopy.
Now, the jet valued at around $67 million is finally returning to its home country. Wrapped in blue plastic, but with the tail uncovered, the plane was loaded on the roll-on, roll-off (RORO) ship USNS Mendonca of the US Navy on 16/08.
“The Mendonca crew helped plan the lift, landing the aircraft from the rescue barge crane and securing the F/A-18 to the deck,” according to Captain James Gill, commander of the USNS Mendonca.
“The USNS Mendonça was given the assignment due to our available cargo space and geographic location. We were the right part in the right place at the right time.”
The ship left Italy the same day, ing through Rota, Spain, three days later. Now the vessel and its special cargo are in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. The aircraft carrier Harry Truman, on the other hand, remains in the Mediterranean region, ing NATO actions in the face of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Arrival, at the Naval Route Base, of the roll-on/roll-off Mendonca T-AKR 303 with 290 meters of length. The bucket is dedicated to the transport of military vehicles, road construction machinery and armament. pic.twitter.com/gHx1KpzDqS
— Agustin de la Poza (@AgustinLowpozi) August 19, 2022
