A quick-thinking US Navy sailor was able to narrowly escape a fighter jet just moments before it fell into the Red Sea on Monday. 

The unidentified sailor was inside the cockpit of an F/A-18 fighter jet, estimated to cost about $60 million, when it slipped off the hanger deck of the USS Harry S. Truman, Business Insider reports. 

Navy officials have previously said the move crew ‘lost control’ of the Super Hornet fighter jet and that one sailor was injured in the incident.

But on Wednesday, a US defense official revealed that the sailor – who was slightly injured – bailed out of the cockpit as soon as it became clear that the fighter jet was going to go overboard.

Yet it remains unclear how much time past between the sailor escaping the plane and it falling into the water.

The defense official noted that it is standard procedure for a sailor to be in the jet’s cockpit when the aircraft is being moved in case the crew needs to use the emergency brake or steer. 

Fighter jets are routinely towed around the hangar deck to park them where they are needed for any flight operations or other work. It is unclear whether there will be an effort to recover the jet, which was a part of Strike Fighter Squadron 136.

The incident remains under investigation. 

An F/A-18 fighter jet, like the one pictured, fell into the Red Sea on Monday

An F/A-18 fighter jet, like the one pictured, fell into the Red Sea on Monday

Navy sailors were moving the fighter jet atop the USS Harry S. Truman when it fell off the hangar deck

Navy sailors were moving the fighter jet atop the USS Harry S. Truman when it fell off the hangar deck

The USS Truman has been deployed to the Middle East for months and was recently involved in stepped-up military operations against the Yemen-based Houthi rebels. 

U.S. Central Command has said that the military has conducted daily strikes, which have been done by fighter jets, bombers, ships and drones.

The Truman’s deployment has already been extended once by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth by about a month, and on Sunday, US airstrikes in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa killed at least eight people, according to Houthi rebels. 

Blood stains, bodies, and children’s toys were seen among the rubble in the Bani Al Harith district in a video released by the Islamic extremist military group. 

The Houths’ al-Masirah satellite news channel reported that eight people were killed in the strike, something not immediately acknowledged by Health Ministry officials. 

Strikes also hit Yemen’s Amran and Saada governorates during the night, the Houthis added. Two others were killed on Sunday, the Houthis said.

Assessing the toll of the month-old US airstrike campaign has been difficult because the military hasn´t released specific information about the attacks, including what was targeted and how many people were killed. 

The Houthis, meanwhile, strictly control access to attacked areas and don´t publish complete information on the strikes, many of which likely have targeted military and security sites. 

Houthi rebels have said airstrikes overnight on Sunday killed at least eight people

Houthi rebels have said airstrikes overnight on Sunday killed at least eight people 

The American military has acknowledged carrying out more than 800 individual strikes from March 15 until April 15 as part of 'Operation Roughrider'

The American military has acknowledged carrying out more than 800 individual strikes from March 15 until April 15 as part of ‘Operation Roughrider’

The airstrikes appears to mark the latest escalation in the military campaign launched by Donald Trump last month as he seeks to prevent Iran from advancing its nuclear program. 

The American military has acknowledged carrying out more than 800 individual strikes from March 15 until April 15 as part of ‘Operation Roughrider’.

In a statement, the US military’s Central Command said the operation has ‘killed hundreds of Houthi fighters and numerous Houthi leaders’.   

They include top Houthi members associated with its missile and drone program, though they were not identified. 

‘Iran undoubtedly continues to provide support to the Houthis,’ the Central Command statement said.

‘The Houthis can only continue to attack our forces with the backing of the Iranian regime.’

‘We will continue to ratchet up the pressure until the objective is met, which remains the restoration of freedom of navigation and American deterrence in the region,’ it added. 

The US is targeting the Houthis because of the group’s attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, a crucial global trade route, and on Israel. 

The Houthis also are the last militant group in Iran´s self-described ‘Axis of Resistance’ that is capable of regularly attacking Israel.  

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