The U.S. Navy on Monday said that an aircraft carrier responsible for launching strikes in the Red Sea against Houthi terrorists lost an F/A-18 Super Hornet that went overboard. 

The USS Harry S. Truman lost the fighter jet and a tow tractor while operating in the vast waterway. 

The plane was actively under tow in a hangar bay when the crew lost control of the aircraft. The jet and tow then went overboard and were lost, the Navy said. 

Sailors towing the aircraft took “immediate action” to move clear of the aircraft before it fell overboard, the Navy said.

This image shows an aircraft launching from the USS Harry S. Truman in the Red Sea before airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen, on Saturday, March 15. (U.S. Navy via AP)

The strike group consists of the Truman aircraft carrier and nine squadrons of Carrier Air Wing 1, three guided-missile destroyers of Destroyer Squadron 28, and the Ticonderoga-class cruiser USS Gettysburg.

The aircraft carrier has been operating in the Red Sea, where it has launched strikes against Houthi terrorists in Yemen.  

The Iran-backed group has claimed to have attacked the USS Harry S. Truman and its accompanying warships in recent weeks, as well as against merchant vessels navigating the Red Sea.

Houthi fighters are pictured next to U.S. President Donald Trump. (AP Images/Getty Images)

The attacks escalated after President Donald Trump launched a military campaign against the group on March 15. The Houthis have targeted ships in the Red Sea in solidarity with Hamas, following its Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel. 

The U.S. military has pummeled over 800 targets since mid-March in a campaign aimed at eliminating the Houthis, according to a recent update from U.S. Central Command. 

Fox News Digital’s Lawrence Richard and The Associated Press contributed to this report.