Aviators eject into sea and four sailors are injured in dramatic USS Eisenhower crash
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Two U.S. Navy aviators ejected while attempting to land their aircraft on the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower off the coast of Virginia on Monday, leaving four sailors aboard the vessel injured in an incident the military described as a "mishap."
Assigned to Carrier Air Wing 3, the two pilots safely ejected after "a mishap occurred during aircraft recovery operations" and were later recovered by search and rescue teams, according to a brief official statement from the Navy.
Following their rescue, both aviators were brought back to the ship for medical evaluation. The four injured shipboard sailors were also given medical care, including one individual who was transported to a hospital in the Norfolk, Virginia, area to receive treatment for non-life-threatening injuries.
Naval officials did not specify the model of the two-seater plane involved in the incident, what happened to the aircraft, or what may have caused the accident. The Navy did not immediately respond to a request seeking additional details.
Commissioned in 1977, the nuclear-powered Nimitz-class USS Dwight D. Eisenhower ranks among the oldest active aircraft carriers in service. According to an analysis conducted by the U.S. Naval Institute’s news service, the vessel has also been deployed more frequently than any other aircraft carrier in the U.S. fleet over the past five years.
The vessel typically carries 5,000 personnel. In 2024, the ship made headlines when Houthi rebels falsely claimed to have sunk it.
The Houthis and aligned social media accounts repeatedly made false claims alleging they hit or sank the carrier in the Red Sea. The vessel leads the U.S. response to rebel targeting of commercial ships and warships in the vital waterway — attacks the Houthis claim are intended to end the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.
The Eisenhower’s leader at the time, Capt. Christopher "Chowdah" Hill, creatively fought back on social media to counter the misinformation and boost morale among the ship’s 5,000 personnel as the Navy faces its most intense combat since World War II.
"I think it’s been about two or three times in the past six months we’ve allegedly been sunk, which we have not been," Hill told The Associated Press during a 2024 visit to the carrier. "It is almost comical at this point. They’re attempting to maybe inspire themselves through misinformation, but it doesn’t work on us."
