The US Navy (USN) is preparing for the recovery of a Boeing P-8A Poseidon that crashed into the sea while attempting to land at a military base in Hawaii.
In a 24 November update, the USN said that personnel from an Aircraft Mishap Board had reached the scene of the accident, and that divers have recovered the jet’s flight data recorder.
The aircraft is half submerged just off the Hawaiian island of Oahu after it overshot the runway while attempting to land at Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay on 20 November. All nine crew evacuated safely.
“Divers also conducted a hydrographic survey around the aircraft to help further evaluate the aircraft’s structural integrity, as well as better assess the coral and marine environment around the aircraft,” says the USN.
“The survey will help the navy plan a recovery operation that minimises any impact to the critical ecosystem of Kaneohe Bay.”
On 22 November, the USN said that preliminary assessments deemed the aircraft to be structurally intact, with no signs of fuel leakage.
To guard against environmental damage, booms have been deployed around the jet. Other environmental measures have also been implemented.
The aircraft is based in Whidbey Island, Washington and is assigned to the Patrol Squadron 4 – the ‘Skinny Dragons’. It is on detachment to Hawaii in support of “maritime homeland defence”.
Imagery posted on the US military’s DVIDS site indicates that the crashed aircraft bears the registration 169561. Cirium fleets data suggest that it was delivered to the USN in September 2020.
