https://news.usni.org/2025/04/28/super-hornet-assigned-to-uss-harry-s-truman-lost-at-sea

In before the gender of the driver is revealed!

Same place the Egyptians lost some chariots

javajaws said:

---

In before the gender of the driver is revealed!

---

She forgot to set the parking brake.

Somebody's losing their brake rider qual

Dang. You know its bad when you belong to the "move crew" and you moved a 35 million dollar asset right off the boat.

This has NOT been a good cruise for the Truman!

They're going to come back now 2 planes short?

• They had the friendly fire incident from one of their guided missile cruisers the USS Gettysburg
• They collided with MV Besiktas-M
• Skipper was relived of duty
• Now they've lost an F-18 and tow vehicle overboard

My money on 'a safety cone got lodged in the gas pedal'

Imagine this ... but towing a F-18.

Quote:

---

Sailors towing the aircraft took immediate action to move clear of the aircraft before it fell overboard. An investigation is underway.

---

I never served, so I have zero room to criticize here...but are we really commending the crew for jumping out of the way before the $60 million airplane they were responsible for towing fell into the water?

EDIT TO ADD: To clarify, I wasn't trying to suggest that they should have stayed on the tractor and "gone down with the ship," so to speak. I just thought it was funny that they seemed to be specifically commending the crew for their actions instead of just inserting a generic "No one was injured during the incident."

It answers the "was anyone hurt" part of the report.

Nope, they jumped out of the way immediately.

No one went full Gandalf yelling "none shall pass"

equipment can be replaced. Sailors lives? Not so much. What good is a human body going to do to swtop not only a plane but its tow vehicle?

No we're commending the immediate action taken by the sailors. The responsiveness clearly highlights the combat readiness of these service members.

Makes sense. Thank you both. Obviously glad everyone is okay. To AgBQ's point, would much rather replace equipment than people. Just thought the wording in the article was funny. Read like a story out of Catch-22.

Seems like they gonna have to find a way to recover that aircraft no?

Chinese will have a research vessel out there Glomar Explorer style.

Troy91 said:

---

It answers the "was anyone hurt" part of the report.

Nope, they jumped out of the way immediately.

No one went full Gandalf yelling "none shall pass"

---

We had a Marine try to tug-of-war a harrier after it got loose. He didn't win. Good luck trying to stop tens of thousands of pounds of rolling plane.

They were not dumb enough to get run over by the plane that they failed to control. Big win

J.P. 03 said:

---

Quote:

---

Sailors towing the aircraft took immediate action to move clear of the aircraft before it fell overboard. An investigation is underway.

---

I never served, so I have zero room to criticize here...but are we really commending the crew for jumping out of the way before the $60 million airplane they were responsible for towing fell into the water?

---

I read it was on the hangar deck not on the flight deck... So was it moving onto an elevator or off of an elevator? Or was it near an elevator door (is that the right word) that was open (can or do they close them?)?

So it's possible the brakes on the tow failed or the tow operator missed a mark or got the unit in the wrong gear; forward vs reverse... I wonder how close the wheels are to the edge when it's secured to the elevator, ie how much extra room is there?

That line is weirdly written, but it means when it started going bad no one was dumb enough to try and play the impossible hero and even the tow driver quickly unassed the vehicle.

Guess we'll get a joint video with Sal and Ward tonight or tomorrow. Mover and Gonky will probably weigh in too

Stat Monitor Repairman said:

---

Seems like they gonna have to find a way to recover that aircraft no?

Chinese will have a research vessel out there Glomar Explorer style.

---

I'll go find the article again... Not the first airplane the Truman has lost. She had one blow off the flight deck in a sudden squall a few years ago. It was recovered.

https://theaviationist.com/2025/04/28/f-a-18e-and-tow-tractor-lost-at-sea-during-operations-aboard-uss-truman/

Quote:

---

Interestingly, the somewhat bizarre incident reminds another one involving USS Truman: on Jul. 8, 2022, an F/A-18E Super Hornet belonging to Carrier Air Wing 1 aboard USS Truman sailing in the Mediterranean Sea, blew off the flight deck of the aircraft carrier due to very bad weather. The mishap was not related to the aircraft going overboard during flying activity but it occurred as the carrier was hit by "an unexpected brief period of intense winds and heavy rains". No one was aboard the F/A-18E at the time of the incident. One sailor was injured in the mishap.

A few weeks later, the U.S. Navy announced that aircraft was successfully recovered from a depth of approximately 9,500 feet on Aug. 3, 2022, by a team from Task Force (CTF) 68, Naval Sea Systems Command's Supervisor of Salvage and Diving (SUPSALV), Harry S. Truman, Naval Strike Fighter Wing Atlantic, and U.S. Sixth Fleet embarked on the multi-purpose construction vessel (MPV) Everest. The aircraft was recovered using a CURV-21 remotely operated vehicle to attach specialized rigging and lift lines to the aircraft. A lifting hook was attached to the rigging to raise the aircraft to the surface and hoist it aboard Everest.

---

Troy91 said:

---

They were not dumb enough to get run over by the plane that they failed to control. Big win

---

"If you can dodge an f-18, you can dodge a ball."

Kenneth_2003 said:

---

J.P. 03 said:

---

Quote:

---

Sailors towing the aircraft took immediate action to move clear of the aircraft before it fell overboard. An investigation is underway.

---

I never served, so I have zero room to criticize here...but are we really commending the crew for jumping out of the way before the $60 million airplane they were responsible for towing fell into the water?

---

I read it was on the hangar deck not on the flight deck... So was it moving onto an elevator or off of an elevator? Or was it near an elevator door (is that the right word) that was open (can or do they close them?)?

So it's possible the brakes on the tow failed or the tow operator missed a mark or got the unit in the wrong gear; forward vs reverse... I wonder how close the wheels are to the edge when it's secured to the elevator, ie how much extra room is there?

That line is weirdly written, but it means when it started going bad no one was dumb enough to try and play the impossible hero and even the tow driver quickly unassed the vehicle.

Guess we'll get a joint video with Sal and Ward tonight or tomorrow. Mover and Gonky will probably weigh in too

---

All of the experts you need are here on Texags.

Troy91 said:

---

It answers the "was anyone hurt" part of the report.

Nope, they jumped out of the way immediately.

No one went full Gandalf yelling "none shall pass"

---

Correction, Gandalf said "You shall not pass". At least in the movie, been a few years since I've read the books.

Quote:

---

All of the experts you need are here on Texags.

---

"minutes ahead when seconds count."

True. They show up to defend the indefensible every single time.

GAC06 said:

---

Troy91 said:

---

It answers the "was anyone hurt" part of the report.

Nope, they jumped out of the way immediately.

No one went full Gandalf yelling "none shall pass"

---

We had a Marine try to tug-of-war a harrier after it got loose. He didn't win. Good luck trying to stop tens of thousands of pounds of rolling plane.

---

Say no more.

GAC06 said:

---

Troy91 said:

---

It answers the "was anyone hurt" part of the report.

Nope, they jumped out of the way immediately.

No one went full Gandalf yelling "none shall pass"

---

We had a Marine try to tug-of-war a harrier after it got loose. He didn't win. Good luck trying to stop tens of thousands of pounds of rolling plane.

---

MyNameIsJeff said:

---

Troy91 said:

---

It answers the "was anyone hurt" part of the report.

Nope, they jumped out of the way immediately.

No one went full Gandalf yelling "none shall pass"

---

Correction, Gandalf said "You shall not pass". At least in the movie, been a few years since I've read the books.

---

This is correct. It was the Black Knight from Monty Python Holy Grail who said "None shall pass".

Media will say it's Hegseth's fault.

That's always where they will go.

An L of an Ag said:

---

This is correct. It was the Black Knight from Monty Python Holy Grail who said "None shall pass".

---

So when the plane went over, did someone say "It's but a flesh wound?"

Stat Monitor Repairman said:

---

Seems like they gonna have to find a way to recover that aircraft no?

Chinese will have a research vessel out there Glomar Explorer style.

---

My thoughts exactly. The Chicoms have a high-tech CIVILIAN research vessel speeding to that exact area on a mission that was planned over a year ago!!

Kenneth_2003 said:

---

J.P. 03 said:

---

Quote:

---

Sailors towing the aircraft took immediate action to move clear of the aircraft before it fell overboard. An investigation is underway.

---

I never served, so I have zero room to criticize here...but are we really commending the crew for jumping out of the way before the $60 million airplane they were responsible for towing fell into the water?

---

I read it was on the hangar deck not on the flight deck... So was it moving onto an elevator or off of an elevator? Or was it near an elevator door (is that the right word) that was open (can or do they close them?)?

So it's possible the brakes on the tow failed or the tow operator missed a mark or got the unit in the wrong gear; forward vs reverse... I wonder how close the wheels are to the edge when it's secured to the elevator, ie how much extra room is there?

That line is weirdly written, but it means when it started going bad no one was dumb enough to try and play the impossible hero and even the tow driver quickly unassed the vehicle.

Guess we'll get a joint video with Sal and Ward tonight or tomorrow. Mover and Gonky will probably weigh in too

---

Are we talking about Mover.... as in... C.W. Lemoine who was the former USN F-18 and USAF F-16 pilot?

Quote:

---

USN loses F-18 & tow truck in the Red Sea

---

At least, this time, there wasn't a pilot and nuclear bomb attached and never recovered.

A-4, pilot, and B43, one megaton bomb

Quote:

---

On 5 December 1965, 31 days after Ticonderoga's departure from U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay in the Philippines, the attack jet was pushed backwards over the side, off the number 2 elevator during a training exercise while being rolled from the number 2 hangar bay to the elevator. The pilot, Lieutenant (junior grade) Douglas M. Webster; the aircraft, Douglas A-4E BuNo 151022 of VA-56; and the B43 nuclear bomb were never recovered from the 16,000 ft (4,900 m) depth.

---

Anyone interested in the above incident, a couple of more detailed accounts below. A real tragedy, reminds us how a simple thing can turn fatal.

The Ticonderoga was leaving Yankee Station off of North Vietnam when the incident occured. Webster's family tried and failed to have his name added to the Vietnam Wall.

https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/2019/december/skyhawk-down

https://vindyarchives.com/news/2006/apr/15/douglas-m-webster-he-acted-on-his-beliefs-says/

Quote:

---

She forgot to set the parking brake.

---

Had this happen one time with a haji van.

Rolled right off the end of the pier.

you'd think we would have steel wire nets for the planes where they could fall over. I figure a 60m plane could have some spare parts we can reuse if insurance doesn't total it out....

Signel said:

---

you'd think we would have steel wire nets for the planes where they could fall over.

---

They weigh 40,000 pounds loaded, about half the weight of a loaded semi. You couldn't put the nets vertically and still operate the flight deck. They're nearly 60 feet long and over 40 wide with the wings unfolded. How big of a horizontal net do we need? Again, it's got to catch a lot of weight.