A US Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet has been lost at sea after it fell overboard from the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier while it was being towed on board, the Navy said in a statement on Monday.

A US official said initial reports from the scene indicated the Truman made a hard turn to evade Houthi fire, which contributed to the fighter jet falling overboard. Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed on Monday to have launched a drone and missile attack on the aircraft carrier, which is in the Red Sea as part of the US military’s major operation against the Iran-backed group.

All personnel aboard are accounted for, and one sailor sustained a minor injury, the Navy said. The injured sailor was in the cockpit of the jet at the time, as is typical when moving a jet in the hangar bay, a second US official told us. The sailor jumped out of the jet before it went overboard.

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

A third US official told us that the aircraft had sunk. An individual F/A-18 fighter jet costs more than $60 million, according to the Navy.

US Navy carriers – the world’s largest warships at nearly 1,100 feet long and with a displacement of almost 100,000 tons – are surprisingly maneuverable for their size.

Powered by two nuclear reactors driving four propeller shafts, Nimitz-class carriers like the Truman can reach speeds in excess of 34 mph.

The exact details of the turn the Truman made to avoid the Houthi fire have not been released, but photos and videos of the ship and other Nimitz-class carriers on the Defense Department’s website show the massive vessels can take on a substantial list in a high-speed turn.

Carl Schuster, a former US Navy captain, told us that carriers trying to avoid a missile attack use a “zig-zag” tactic.

“You typically do a series of alternating 30- to 40-degree turns. Each takes about 30 seconds each way, but the turn starts sharply. It is like riding in a zig-zagging car,” Schuster said.

“The ship leans about 10 to 15 degrees into the turn, but it displaces the ship about 100 to 200 yards from any likely aim point” if the ship is moving at maximum speed, he said.