Navy Fighter Jet Crashes into Sea from USS Harry S Truman; Yemen's Houthis Evaluate Sanaa Airport Destruction
Rewritten Article:
Trouble on the USS Harry S. Truman
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - An F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet took an unexpected dip in the Red Sea after landing on the USS Harry S. Truman, forcing its pilots to bail out. A defense official doled out the details to Associated Press reporters on May 6, 2025.
This mishap marks another setback for the Truman, cruising the Arabian Sea as a big fish in the United States' airstrike campaign against Yemen's Houthi rebels.
Meanwhile, the Houthis continue to feel the burn from Tuesday's Israeli airstrikes, targeting Sanaa, their rebellious capital. Intriguingly, both U.S. President Donald Trump and Oman's foreign minister claimed a ceasefire had been reached with the Houthis - a peace deal yet to be officially acknowledged by the rebel forces themselves.
A land(ing) fit for heroes...and losers
The ill-fated jet's arrestment failed (read: nosedived), according to our sassy whistleblower, who barked off anonymously because they weren't authorized to disclose such cheeky tidbits yet. The "arrestment" term might sound like a supervillain's catchphrase, but it actually refers to the hook system used on aircraft carriers to help with landing, hooking onto steel wire ropes on the deck. It's still up in the air what piece of the system went south on this occasion.
CNN got wind of the incident before it went public. After the near-drowning, both pilots were whisked away by chopper and suffered merely minor injuries. No deckhands were hurt in this Holy Hell-raiser.
Tuesday's incident isn't the first time the Navy has lost an F/A-18. In April, another Super Hornet plunged off the hangar deck of the Truman and took an unwelcome swim in the Red Sea. In December, the USS Gettysburg mistakenly clipped an F/A-18, while earlier in the year, the Truman itself collided with a merchant freighter.
Despite these hiccups, the Truman – based out of Norfolk, Virginia – has had its deployment extended repeatedly in support of the Houthi airstrike mission, with the added muscle of the USS Carl Vinson joining the fray from the Arabian Sea.
Sanaa International Airport: Checking In to Oblivion
The Israeli air raids on Tuesday blasted Sanaa International Airport into smithereens. Khaled al-Shaif, the airport's head honcho, blabbed to the Houthis’ al-Masirah satellite news channel that the attack wrecked the terminal and cratered the runway.
At least six planes, including three from Yemenia Airways, the country's flag carrier, took a direct hit. With one plane being out of commission at this point, al-Shaif reckoned the overall damage to exceed a half-billion smackers. He reported that the airport was currently out of action.
The Houthis: Drone Kings of the Red Sea
Prior to the U.S. broadside launched against the Houthis in mid-March, the rebellious buggers had unleashed a barrage of missile and drone attacks against commercial and military ships in the region since November 2023. During this thrill ride, the Houthis crippled over 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two and taking the lives of four sailors. This chin-check to regional trade through the Red Sea corridor, which typically moves $1 trillion annual goods, has been substantial.
However, the Houthis took a temporary break from these attacks in a self-imposed ceasefire, until Uncle Sam decided to teach 'em a lesson.
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- The unexpected landing of an F/A-18 Super Hornet on the USS Harry S. Truman, which resulted in the pilots bailing out, occurred in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, adding another incident to the Truman's history during its deployment in the Arabian Sea, supporting the United States' airstrike campaign against Yemen's Houthi rebels.
- In Seattle, a green fireball lit up the sky, becoming a front-page story, while in Rome, a tourist met a tragic end by scaling a fence and impaling himself on a spike at the Colosseum.
- Meanwhile, the Houthis in Yemen, known for their drone attacks, were forced to halt their actions following Israeli airstrikes on Sanaa International Airport, causing extensive damage to the terminal and runway, and grounding several planes, including three from Yemenia Airways.
