Two U.S. Navy aviators ejected from their aircraft while attempting to land aboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower off the coast of Virginia, and four sailors aboard the carrier were injured in the chaos that followed. One of the injured sailors was taken to a hospital in the Norfolk, Virginia, area, while the other three were treated aboard the ship.
Aviators Pulled From the Water, Returned to Ship
According to News4JAX, the two aviators are assigned to Carrier Air Wing 3 and ejected while landing their plane on the Eisenhower. Both aviators were safely recovered and then returned to the ship and evaluated by medical personnel, per the same report.
The Navy said a mishap occurred during aircraft recovery operations, but the service characterized the incident only as a mishap and stopped short of offering further specifics. Officials did not identify the type of two-seater plane involved, did not disclose what happened to the aircraft, and did not say what caused the accident, the outlet reported.
Four Hurt, One Hospitalized
Four shipboard personnel received medical care in connection with the incident. One of those sailors sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was transported to a hospital in the Norfolk area, while the remaining three were treated aboard the carrier itself.
The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower is a nuclear-powered Nimitz-class aircraft carrier that was commissioned in 1977. Carrier Air Wing 3, the unit to which the two ejected aviators are assigned, has previously been embarked aboard the Eisenhower, according to news.usni.org, which has also reported that a landing mishap aboard the carrier left four personnel injured and that the crew involved was safely recovered.
Beyond the confirmation that all four injured personnel and both ejected aviators are accounted for, the Navy has not released additional details about the extent of the damage to the aircraft or the specific cause of the mishap. No further information on the investigation has been made public.
