A U.S. Navy F-18 Super Hornet was crash landed in Bahrain after flying off USS Nimitz, a deployed aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf.
Cmdr. Bill Urban, a spokesman for the Bahrain-based U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, said in a statement that the pilot ejected after landing and is "uninjured.”
Soon after takeoff, the F-18 suffered an engine problem and the pilot tried to divert to Sheikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain. However, the plane couldn’t make it and instead landed at the island’s commercial airport, Urban said.
“Due to the malfunction, the aircraft could not be stopped on the runway and the pilot ejected from the aircraft as it departed the runway,” he said.
Urban said the crash is under investigation and that the Navy was helping to re-open the runway so the airport could resume normal operations.
This comes after a U.S. Navy fighter jet squadron was grounded aboard USS George HW Bush in July due to problems with the jets.
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