A&A surprise strike on loaded aircraft carrier
The fighters are considered, for the purpose of the game, to already be in the air, so the surprise strike will not put the fighters behind the casualty line.

At the end of combat, defending fighters have a range of one. If at the end of combat there are no carriers with available capacity in the combat zone, or an adjacent sea zone, or an adjacent land square that is controlled by an allied power where they can land, they are destroyed.