Top Gun fighter jet worth £56m recovered from floor of the Mediterranean

 

Top Gun fighter jet worth £56m recovered from floor of the Mediterranean (msn.com)

Top Gun fighter jet worth £56m recovered from floor of the Mediterranean

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Top Gun fighter jet worth £56m recovered from floor of the Mediterranean

Cover Media, Cover Media 

ASuper Hornet fighter jet similar to the one featured in Top Gun: Maverick has been recovered after it was blown off an aircraft carrier into the sea during a storm.

 

PICTURE SHOWS: SICILY, Italy (August 16, 2022) A view of an F/A-18E Super Horner being lowered onto Military Sealift Command's large medium speed roll-on, roll-off ship USNS Mendonca (T-AKR 303) in Sicily, Italy, Aug. 16. STORY COPY: A Super Hornet fighter jet similar to the one which is featured in Top Gun: Maverick has been recovered after it was blown off an aircraft carrier into the sea ...© U.S. Navy/Cover Images

 

The US Navy's F/A-18 was onboard the USS Harry Truman when strong winds in the Mediterranean blew the £56 million fighter off of the deck and into the sea.

The aircraft is the same model as the ones that were flown by the likes of Tom Cruise in the recent blockbuster sequel Top Gun: Maverick.

The jet had no pilot in it when it encountered the winds but one sailor on the aircraft carrier was injured in the incident - thankfully, he is stable and expected to fully recover.

 

 

"One sailor received minor injuries while conducting operations during the unexpected heavy weather," a spokesman for the US Navy 6th Fleet said. "The sailor is in stable condition and expected to make a full recovery."

The carrier is based in Naples and is on an extended deployment due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24.

The aircraft was found at a depth of approximately 9,500 feet by a team including Task Force (CTF) 68 and Naval Sea Systems Command's Supervisor of Salvage and Diving. Using the multi-purpose construction vessel Everest, the aircraft was recovered using a CURV-21 remotely operated vehicle to attach specialised 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.

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