US Navy plane removed from Hawaii bay after it overshot runway. Coral damage remains to be seen
KANEOHE BAY, Hawaii (AP) — A U.S. Navy jet has been moved from a coral reef in an environmentally sensitive Hawaii bay where it got stuck after overshooting a runway nearly two weeks ago, officials said Monday.
A team worked through the weekend to use inflatable cylinders to lift and roll the plane off the reef where it crashed on Nov. 20 and move it to the nearby runway at Marine Corps Base Hawaii at Kaneohe Bay.
Rear Adm. Kevin Lenox, the commander of Carrier Strike Group 3 who is leading the $1.5 million salvage effort, said absorbent material around the plane showed no indication of any fluid other than sea water, giving officials confidence that the plane hadn’t released any hazardous materials such as fuel.
None of the nine people on board the P-8A — the military’s version of a Boeing 737 — were injured. The Navy is investigating the cause of the crash.
Another proposed airline merger tests Biden administration’s resolve to preserve competition
US Navy says it will cost $1.5M to salvage jet plane that crashed on Hawaii coral reef
US military affirms it will end live-fire training in Hawaii’s Makua Valley
The Navy released underwater video last week showing the aircraft’s wheels resting on parts of crushed coral and much of the rest of the plane floating above the reef.
Contractors place inflatable bags under a U.S. Navy P-8A in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, Friday, Dec. 1, 2023, so they can float the aircraft over the water and onto land. The Navy plans to use inflatable cylinders to lift the jet off a coral reef and then roll it over to a runway to remove the plane from the ocean where it crashed the week before. (AP Photo/Audrey McAvoy)
A Navy team earlier removed nearly all of the estimated 2,000 gallons (7,500 liters) of fuel from the aircraft.
Kaneohe Bay is home to coral reefs and a lot of other marine life. The area hosts an ancient Hawaiian fishpond being restored by community groups.
Lenox said state divers conducted a preliminary dive over the weekend to begin assessing the plane’s effect on the coral.
In this image taken from video provided by the U.S. Navy, Navy divers assigned to Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit One (MDSU-1) conduct an underwater survey of the U.S. Navy’s P-8A Poseidon in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023. The U.S. Navy said the underwater footage shows two points where the large plane is touching coral in the Hawaii bay. It’s been more than a week since the Navy plane overshot a runway and landed in shallow water just offshore of Marine Corps Base Hawaii at Kaneohe Bay. (U.S. Navy via AP)
The state Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of Aquatic Resources was expected to begin a fuller assessment of the reef damage on Monday.
Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
