MAYDAY

U.S. Navy Jet Crashes in Water Off Hawaii

Nine crew members were on board the aircraft during the accident.

A U.S. Navy reconnaissance aircraft overshot a runway in Hawaii on Monday and ended up crashing into water off the island of Oahu, military officials said.

The maritime patrol P-8A Poseidon jet was carrying nine crew members as it landed after a routine training mission at Marine Corps Base Hawaii near Kaneohe Bay on Monday afternoon. Marine Corps spokesperson 1st Lt. Hailey Harms told The New York Times that all of the crew were able to escape without injury and were eventually rescued from an inflatable life raft in the water.

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The aircraft, which is based on the airframe of a Boeing 737 passenger plane, remained in the waves as of Monday afternoon. Images of the wreck showed its wings visible above the waterline, with a floating barrier deployed around the aircraft to protect the environment.

No details have been released as to what may have caused the accident. When the incident took place, visibility was reduced to around one mile, with mist and wind gusts of up to 21 miles per hour, according to the National Weather Service, CNN reports.

A statement from the Navy’s Third Fleet said the aircraft’s crew are assigned to a squadron based in Whidbey Island, Washington, and that the jet was “on a detachment in support of maritime homeland defense.”

The P-8A Poseidon is used for a range of maritime missions including anti-submarine warfare, surveillance, and search and rescue. It can be armed with torpedoes and cruise missiles, and the aircraft is used by other militaries around the world including those of the U.K., Australia, and India.

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Dan Ladden-HallBreaking News Editor

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