Four Sailors Injured After US Navy Aircraft Mishap Aboard USS Dwight D. Eisenhower

Two US Navy aviators ejected from an aircraft while trying to land on the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower off the Virginia coast on Monday evening. Four sailors on the aircraft carrier were also injured, the US Navy said.

The incident happened at around 6:18 p.m. EDT on Sept. 28 during aircraft recovery operations on the Nimitz-class carrier. The Navy described it as a “mishap” but did not say what went wrong.

The two aviators are assigned to Carrier Air Wing 3. Search-and-rescue personnel found them and brought them back to the ship. They were then taken for medical checks, the Navy said.

Four sailors aboard the carrier were injured. One was taken to a hospital in the Norfolk area with non-life-threatening injuries. The other three were treated on the ship.

The Navy has not said which aircraft was involved. The Eisenhower normally operates F/A-18 Super Hornets and EA-18G Growlers. Both aircraft can carry two crew members.

The Navy also has not said what happened to the aircraft after the incident. It has not explained what caused the mishap or why the two aviators had to eject.

A Navy spokesperson said more details would be provided when they become available.

The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower is a nuclear-powered Nimitz-class aircraft carrier. It was commissioned in 1977.

The carrier completed a planned 15-month maintenance and repair period in April. Recent US Department of Defense press releases said the ship was conducting carrier qualifications off the Virginia coast as recently as late August.

The incident comes a few months after another US Navy aviation accident.

In May, four Navy crew members ejected safely after two EA-18G Growlers collided during an aerial demonstration at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho. Both aircraft crashed after the collision. They were reported to be worth about $67 million each.

Former TOPGUN pilot Matthew “Whiz” Buckley told Fox News Digital last month that ejecting from an aircraft at high speed can cause serious injuries. He said some people he knew had suffered spinal injuries after ejecting and were left several inches shorter.

The Navy has not connected Monday’s incident to the May Growler collision.

The two aviators were safely returned to the carrier and were undergoing medical checks. The four injured sailors also received treatment, with one taken to hospital.

References: The Guardian, CNN