F/A-18 Super Hornet. Source: boeing.com
A Boeing F/A-18E Super Hornet fighter jet from the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier crashed in the Celebes Sea, south of the Philippines, the US Navy said on Friday.
“A pilot safely ejected and was quickly recovered by a helicopter assigned to HSC-4 aboard USS Carl Vinson while conducting routine flight operations during a transit in the Celebes Sea.
The incident occurred as the F/A-18E assigned to Carrier Air Wing 2 was on final approach to USS Carl Vinson. The incident is currently under investigation. The pilot is being assessed by the medical team on board USS Carl Vinson and there are no apparent injuries at this time,” the US Navy statement reads.
The Carl Vinson carrier strike group is intended to arrive the Sea of Japan next week in order to project the force on the Korean Peninsula amid growing tensions between the United States and North Korea.
Whoops :)
Its a bad omen for them I think lol
what they did not report was the pilot was bitten by a north korean mosquito haha
You might think this is funny, after the Russians losing several aircraft during the Kuznetsov’s short deployment with its tiny airgroup, but I doubt there’s not been a single US carrier deployment where at least one aircraft did not crash. Carrier operations is a risky business and the Americans have always pushed their luck as they continue round the clock operations during 6 months long carrier deployments, including night operations, which not even the French carry out with this regularity and intensity as it is very risky.
The Russians lost aircraft because they rarely deploy their only carrier, a lot of their stuff is old and its pilots and crew are not that well trained and lack the experience. They even sent part of their airgroup ashore to Syria. The Americans lose aircraft because they maintain a high operational tempo for 6 months at a time, including night flying, and when you have as many aircraft as they do though, chances are their luck will run out at some point. They have to be on their game and lucky all the time, Murphy only once.