Four U.S. Navy personnel and two sailors suffered non-life-threatening injuries after the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier suffered an undisclosed “mishap.”
The Navy said in an X post Tuesday morning that issues affected the two-seater plane when it was trying to land on the ship off the coast of Virginia on Monday, causing two aviators to eject from the plane and four shipboard personnel to suffer injuries. One sailor was taken to the hospital.
“Our immediate priority is ensuring all personnel involved receive the care and support they need,” the Navy said in its statement. “Carrier crews regularly train for emergencies and unexpected situations during flight operations, and that training enabled the crew to respond quickly and safely.”
Military.com reached out to the Navy for further information.
The incident occurred at approximately 6:18 p.m. ET during aircraft recovery operations aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier.
“Two Naval aviators assigned to Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 3 subsequently ejected from their aircraft and were promptly recovered by search-and-rescue personnel,” officials said.
The Navy did not disclose other details about the cause of the incident. The service said it was investigating it and would provide further updates “as additional information becomes available.”
What is the USS Eisenhower, and How is it Used?
The Nimitz-class USS Dwight D Eisenhower was commissioned in 1977 and serves as a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier designed to protect the American military presence, protect international trade routes, and launch airstrikes worldwide.
The vessel provides critical deterrence and rapid-response capabilities for the U.S. military during global security crises.
The carrier has been heavily utilized in the Middle East, where it recently spearheaded U.S. operations during a historic nine-month combat deployment from October 2023 to July 2024.
Operating with an aircraft capacity of approximately 60 platforms embarked via Carrier Air Wing 3, the warship and its strike group defended vital commercial shipping lanes and intercepted numerous missile and drone attacks launched by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.
The vessel remains combat-ready following a comprehensive maintenance overhaul.
Condition of Injured Personnel
The Navy said that both aviators aboard the vessel “safely returned to the ship” and that medical personnel are currently evaluating them.
It added that the four shipboard personnel who also received injuries during the so-called mishap are similarly receiving medical care. One sailor was being transported to a Norfolk-area hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries, the service said.
There have been other similar naval incidents in recent years.
In October 2025, an F/A-18F Super Hornet and an MH-60R Seahawk helicopter from the USS Nimitz crashed into the South China Sea within 30 minutes of each other.
There were also multiple crises on the USS Harry S. Truman from 2024 into 2025, including a friendly-fire missile accident that forced a pilot to eject, a collision with a merchant vessel near the Suez Canal, and a fighter jet lost to an arresting wire failure.
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