A mid-flight refueling accident off the Virginia coast damaged a Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet strike fighter last week, officials told Navy Times.

The Dec. 16 incident involved two Super Hornets with Virginia-based Strike Fighter Squadron 106, according to Naval Air Forces spokesman Cmdr. Ronald Flanders.

A F/A-18E was aerially refueling its F-variant counterpart in the Virginia Capes Operating Area when a “basket slap” occurred, sending foreign object debris into both engines of the receiving jet, he said.

A basket is an attachment to the refueling probe that is used for mid-flight refueling.

A basket slap involves the refueling probe smacking into the receiving jet.

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Both aircraft returned to base, no injuries were reported and the cause and extent of the damages remain under investigation, Flanders said.

Navy officials initially labeled the incident as a “Class A” mishap, which involves accidents causing at least $2.5 million in damages.

It’s the third Class A aviation mishap since the new federal fiscal year began on Oct. 1.

A Navy RQ-4A Global Hawk drone was damaged Nov. 26 when debris struck its port side while taking off for a mission in the Middle East.

A Navy doomsday plane also sucked a bird into one of its four engines during a touch and go landing Oct. 2

The damaged engine for the E-6B Mercury, assigned to Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 20 at Maryland’s Naval Air Station Patuxent River, has since been replaced, officials said.

Geoff is a senior staff reporter for Military Times, focusing on the Navy. He covered Iraq and Afghanistan extensively and was most recently a reporter at the Chicago Tribune. He welcomes any and all kinds of tips at geoffz@militarytimes.com.

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