US fighter jet crash lands at Bahrain International Airport

MANAMA - 13 August 2017: A US F-18 fighter jet suffering an engine problem crash landed Saturday at Bahrain International Airport and its pilot ejected from the aircraft after it ran off the runway, authorities said. The pilot escaped unharmed, ABC News reported.

The F-18 took off from the USS Nimitz, an aircraft carrier now in the Arabian Gulf, said Cmdr. Bill Urban, a fleet spokesman. While in flight, the plane suffered an engine malfunction, forcing the pilot to divert, Urban said.

The pilot initially tried to land at Sheikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain, but instead ended up 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," the commander said in a statement.

Naval officials began an investigation into the crash and were trying to help the airport resume operations, Urban said. Bahrain's Transportation and Telecommunications Ministry called the crash landing a "minor incident" in a statement and said flights resumed at the airport several hours later.