Two Navy Aviators Eject During USS Eisenhower Landing, Four Injured

Four personnel aboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower were injured Monday evening after an aircraft encountered a mishap while being recovered aboard the US Navy carrier off the coast of Virginia, forcing its two aviators to eject.

The incident occurred at about 6:18 p.m. EDT on September 28 during aircraft recovery operations, according to the Navy. The two aviators, who are assigned to Carrier Air Wing 3, were safely recovered by search-and-rescue personnel and returned to the carrier for medical evaluation.

The Navy said four shipboard personnel were also injured and were receiving medical treatment. One sailor was being transported to a hospital in the Norfolk area with injuries described as non-life-threatening. The service did not release further details about the condition of the other injured personnel.

The Navy has not identified the aircraft involved, nor has it disclosed what caused the mishap or provided details about the aircraft's condition. USNI News reported that the aircraft was a two-seat aircraft assigned to Carrier Air Wing 3, but the Navy has not confirmed whether it was an F/A-18F Super Hornet, EA-18G Growler or another two-seat aircraft operated by the Navy.

The safe recovery of the two aviators followed the carrier's emergency response procedures. The Navy said carrier crews routinely train for emergencies during flight operations and that this training enabled personnel to respond quickly to the incident.

The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, commonly known as the “Ike”, is a Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier based at Naval Station Norfolk. Commissioned in 1977, the carrier remains a major component of the US Navy's carrier fleet and routinely conducts flight operations in preparation for deployments.

USNI News reported that Eisenhower had recently completed a repair period in July and was beginning carrier qualification operations. The ship left Naval Station Norfolk on Monday afternoon before the mishap occurred off the Virginia coast.

The latest incident is not the first aviation mishap involving the Eisenhower. In 2016, eight sailors were injured when an arresting gear cable broke during an aircraft landing on the carrier. The Navy said at the time that there were no fatalities and that the injured sailors were in stable condition.

For now, the circumstances surrounding Monday's incident remain under investigation, and there is no indication from the Navy that the mishap was connected to hostile action. The service has also not said whether the aircraft was damaged or lost.

The incident highlights the inherent risks of carrier aviation, where aircraft must land on a moving flight deck within a tightly controlled operational environment. While the successful ejection and rapid recovery of the two aviators and the treatment of the injured personnel demonstrate the importance of established emergency procedures, the Navy's investigation will ultimately be needed to determine what went wrong and whether any changes are required to prevent a similar incident.