A Navy F-18 Super Hornet has crashed in Bahrain, following an announcement from the Marine Corps that it will ground all planes for a 24-hour period sometime in the next two weeks.
The F-18, hailing from the USS Nimitz in the Persian Gulf, was attempting an emergency landing after suffering an engine problem mid-flight when it crashed into the runway at the Bahrain International Airport, which has resulted in flight disruptions to and from the island, the Associated Press reports.
The incident follows a Marine Corps announcement to ground all service aircraft for a period of 24 hours at some point in the next two weeks, due to two recent and fatal crashes. Last week, an MV-22 Osprey crashed near Australia, resulting in the deaths of three Marines.
In the Bahrain incident Saturday, the pilot managed to eject safely, and Bahrain’s Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications later stated no one was injured in the incident.
“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,” Navy Cmdr. Bill Urban said in a statement.
Upon realizing the engine malfunction, the pilot attempted to land the F-18 at the Shaikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain, but was forced to make a hard landing at the commercial airport instead.
The Navy has already started an investigation into the engine malfunction.
A total of 8,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Bahrain, the majority of which are sailors.
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