Two Navy aviators were forced to eject from their aircraft during a landing attempt off the Virginia coast Monday evening, an incident that also left four sailors aboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower injured, the U.S. military confirmed.
The mishap occurred at approximately 6:18 p.m. EDT while the carrier was conducting aircraft recovery operations, according to a Navy statement. The aviators, assigned to Carrier Air Wing 3, were quickly retrieved by search-and-rescue teams and returned to the ship.
“Both aviators were safely returned to the ship and are being evaluated by medical personnel,” the Navy said. One sailor was transported to a hospital in the Norfolk, Virginia, area for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries. The other three injured sailors were treated aboard the vessel.
The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, a Nimitz-class carrier, serves as the flagship for Carrier Strike Group 2, led by Rear Adm. P. Scott Miller. The ship is designed for a range of missions, including maritime security, expeditionary power projection, forward naval presence, crisis response, and sea control.
Commissioned in 1977 as the second Nimitz-class carrier, the Eisenhower is named after the 34th president and has a storied history, including deployments during the Gulf War and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Its home port is Norfolk, Virginia.
The incident comes as the U.S. military continues to maintain a significant naval presence in the Middle East. The USS Theodore Roosevelt, another Nimitz-class carrier, departed San Diego on Sunday to relieve the USS George Washington in that region.
The news also unfolds against the backdrop of the ongoing U.S.-Iran conflict, which reached the seven-month mark on Monday. President Trump reiterated his stance that Iran “cannot have a nuclear weapon,” and suggested that gasoline prices would fall once the conflict ends.
“I went to war to stop … one of the worst things that could happen to the world,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. His administration has continued to reject ceasefire proposals, with recent signals indicating more talks and possible strikes.
The Navy has not released the identities of the aviators or the sailors injured, and an investigation into the cause of the mishap is expected.
