WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
- Two E/A-18G Growler aviators ejected after an arresting gear failure during a landing attempt aboard USS Dwight D. Eisenhower.
- Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 7 safely recovered both aviators and returned them to the carrier.
- Six shipboard personnel were injured, with several sailors and both aviators transported for further medical care.
- The Navy is investigating the mishap, which occurred while the Eisenhower conducted carrier qualifications in the Atlantic.
Eight people were injured Monday after a landing mishap involving an E/A-18G Growler aboard the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, according to an announcement from the Navy. The incident involved two naval aviators and six shipboard personnel.
The aviators, assigned to Electronic Attack Squadron 130, were attempting to land the Growler while the carrier operated off the coast of Virginia. The landing attempt occurred at 6:18 p.m., placing the emergency aboard the ship during Monday evening operations.
An arresting gear failure forced both aviators to eject from the aircraft during the attempted landing. The Navy identified that equipment failure as the event that preceded the ejection but did not provide additional details about how the failure occurred.
The Growler was being piloted by the two aviators when the mishap unfolded. Both were recovered after ejecting, preventing the emergency from becoming an immediate search operation extending beyond the carrier and its supporting personnel.
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Search and rescue personnel from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 7 carried out the recovery. They safely retrieved the aviators and returned them to the Eisenhower following the failed landing attempt and ejection.
“The cause of the mishap is under investigation,” the Navy said. “Updates will be provided as additional information becomes available.”
The two aviators were not the only personnel affected by the incident. Six shipboard personnel also sustained injuries during the mishap and received medical attention, bringing the total number of injured people reported by the Navy to eight.
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The Navy’s announcement described multiple levels of medical response following the incident. Some injured personnel received attention aboard the ship, while others were moved from the Eisenhower for additional evaluation or treatment at facilities in Virginia.
One sailor was medically evacuated from the aircraft carrier to a facility in Norfolk, Virginia. That sailor required further treatment for injuries that were described as not life threatening.
The two aviators were flown to Naval Medical Center Portsmouth for further medical evaluation. Two sailors who were injured on the flight deck were also transported to the same medical center for evaluation following the carrier mishap.
The announcement did not provide further medical details about the aviators or the sailors transported from the ship. It stated that the injured shipboard personnel received medical attention and specifically identified the outside facilities used for further care.
The incident occurred aboard a Nimitz class aircraft carrier that is currently conducting carrier qualifications in the Atlantic. Those operations followed the ship’s completion of sea trials in April as part of its planned incremental availability.
The Eisenhower had completed those sea trials several months after returning from its latest deployment. According to the report, the carrier returned on July 15, 2024, following a deployment that lasted nine months.
During that deployment, the Eisenhower battled Houthi rebels backed by Iran along the Red Sea. The carrier’s current Atlantic operations therefore follow both that extended deployment and the planned availability that included its April sea trials.
Monday’s mishap centered on the Growler’s attempted recovery aboard the carrier and the failure of the arresting gear. The ejection triggered a response involving aviation personnel, search and rescue crews, shipboard medical personnel, and facilities ashore.
The Navy has not announced a final cause beyond stating that the mishap remains under investigation. Its statement said additional updates would be released as more information becomes available, leaving the investigation open while the injured personnel received evaluation and treatment.
For now, the confirmed account remains limited to the failed landing, the ejection of both aviators, their safe recovery, and the injuries sustained by six shipboard personnel. The Navy’s investigation will examine the mishap involving the E/A-18G Growler and the Eisenhower’s arresting gear.
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