$87m US fighter jet rolls off ship into Red Sea

A $87 million US fighter jet rolled off the side an aircraft carrier and sank to the bottom of the Red Sea with the extraordinary mishap attributed to human error.

A US Navy F/A-18E Super Hornet fighter jet slipped off an aircraft carrier and sank into the Red Sea in an alarming accident – but the pilot made it out alive, according to the military.

The jet – which cost about $US56 million ($A87 million) apiece – was being towed out of a hangar Monday on the USS Harry S. Truman when the tractor pulling it lost control.

Both the jet and the tractor fell overboard, according to the Navy.

A US Navy F/A-18E Super Hornet fighter jet slipped off an aircraft carrier and sank into the Red Sea in an alarming accident.. Picture: Gerard Bottino/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

The pilot and the Navy sailor driving the tractor managed to jump free, with only one sustaining a minor injury.

“The F/A-18E was actively under tow in the hangar bay when the move crew lost control of the aircraft. The aircraft and tow tractor were lost overboard,” the Navy wrote in a statement.

The pilot made it out alive, according to the military.. Picture: Darren Cordoviz/DVIDS / AFP

“Sailors towing the aircraft took immediate action to move clear of the aircraft before it fell overboard. An investigation is underway,” the service added.

The extraordinary mishap has been attributed to human error with an investigation under way

The USS Truman aircraft carrier group has been subjected to constant threats from the Iran-backed Houthi terror group in Yemen.

It is stationed in the Red Sea to protect commercial shipping in the area, which has been regularly attacked by the Houthis.

This article originally appeared on the New York Post and was reproduced with permission