Navy investigates Super Hornet crash in Gulf - Navy News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Navy Times

Navy investigates Super Hornet crash in Gulf

Navy investigators are looking into what caused two F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jets from the carrier Harry S. Truman to collide in midair Monday over the northern Persian Gulf.

The three aviators from the two planes ejected over the water, were rescued by helicopter and returned to the carrier. They were reportedly in good condition.

The collision involved a single-seat F/A-18E from the Truman’s Strike Fighter Squadron 105, the “Gunslingers,” and a two-seat F/A-18F from VFA-11, the “Red Rippers.” Both squadrons are based at Naval Air Station Oceana, Va.

The planes were flying over the Gulf en route to a close-air support mission in Iraq when they crashed into each other, according to a Navy statement. A Navy spokeswoman would not speculate on the cause.

The Truman was operating in the northern Persian Gulf at the time of the crash, the Navy said, and the Hornets’ collision was not related to an incident Sunday in which five Iranian attack boats harassed three U.S. warships emerging from the Strait of Hormuz.