Months after the end of the deployment of the nuclear aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman in the Red Sea, new investigations published by the U.S. Navy have pointed to serious shortcomings in crew training and equipment performance, which resulted in the avoidable loss of three F/A-18 Super Hornet fighters belonging to its embarked air wing. These documents mainly refer to the collision involving the carrier and the merchant ship MV Besiktas-M in the Mediterranean earlier this year, after which Captain Dave Snowden was removed from command; however, it is not the only incident listed in the investigation.
In that regard, the investigations conducted by the U.S. Navy include a total of four incidents affecting the carrier and its aircraft, as well as its escort ships. The first occurred on December 22, 2024, when the cruiser USS Gettysburg opened fire on two fighters approaching the carrier for landing, specifically using SM-2 missiles. The second and third events took place in February of this year: the aforementioned collision with a merchant vessel and an evasive maneuver against Houthi missiles, which led to the fall of a Super Hornet from the ship’s hangar. The last incident was recorded in May, involving an aircraft that went over the edge of the deck while attempting to land due to a failure in its tailhook.
In all four incidents, the investigation conducted by the U.S. Navy stated that these were events that could have been avoided, hence the sanctions against the former captain of the ship and other crew members, without providing further details. Citing some statements given by the institution to local specialized media: “We assure you that accountability measures were taken for all operators involved in this. This could involve an administrative reaction to remove someone’s watch qualification and requalify them according to administrative procedures under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.”
Breaking down each of the listed points, beginning with the friendly fire incident, the U.S. Navy indicated that one of the main reasons may have been that USS Gettysburg had been operating separately from the Strike Group, including the absence of its commanders from key planning meetings for the development of operations. This may have caused the ship’s commanders to be unaware of the carrier’s scheduled flights, and given that they were in a hostile environment due to frequent Houthi drone attacks, they assumed the approaching aircraft were enemy threats that needed to be neutralized; failures in the identification friend-or-foe system are also mentioned. The first Super Hornet was lost in this incident.
Regarding the collision, the recently published documents focus on a poor level of crew preparation aboard the carrier, particularly in communication between stations and logs, as well as technical failures in the system responsible for detecting nearby vessels. The collision occurred near Port Said while the USS Harry Truman was sailing at a speed of 19 knots around midday on February 12, causing damage to the carrier’s stern (requiring more than 680,000 dollars in repairs) as the merchant ship crashed into the waterline even though late evasive maneuvers were attempted.
Following this incident, another F/A-18 and a tow tractor were lost on April 28, in what the Navy described as technical failures in the aircraft’s braking system and communication issues among crew members during an evasive maneuver against an incoming missile threat. The aircraft had not been properly secured, and the maneuver caused it to slide out of the hangar and fall into the sea, resulting in losses exceeding 36 million dollars and injuring sailors; one of them was the pilot himself, who managed to exit the cockpit just in time. Additionally, the anti-slip coating on the floor was noted to be deteriorated, which negatively contributed to the loss of the second aircraft.
The last recorded incident occurred on May 6, when an F/A-18 from Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 11 attempted to land on the deck but its tailhook and arresting cables failed to engage properly, causing the aircraft to overshoot and fall into the sea; both pilots managed to eject in time. More specifically, it is reported that the cable may not have been properly secured to the pulley damper and came loose during the maneuver, even striking one of the crew members and causing facial lacerations. Maintenance failures and insufficient training of the technicians responsible for ensuring the safety of the maneuver were noted, considering that the equipment had been inspected only a few days earlier.
Images used for illustrative purposes
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