A Northrop Grumman E-2D Advanced Hawkeye command and control aircraft of the United States Navy crashed into Chincoteague Bay off the coast of Virginia, United States, on March 30, 2022.
The aircraft belonged to an East Coast Airborne Command and Control Squadron (VAW) and had taken off from Naval Station Norfolk Chambers Field (NGU), Virginia, for a routine exercise.
“Two crew members were rescued by Maryland State Police and transported to Wallops Island for follow-on medical treatment for non-life-threatening injuries,” the US Navy reported in a statement. “Unfortunately, the third crew member was found deceased in the aircraft.”
The US Navy opened an investigation into the incident.
The Northrop Grumman E-2D Advanced Hawkeye turboprop carrier-capable aircraft can detect both air and sea surface targets simultaneously with an effective range of more than 500 kilometers (270 nautical miles) thanks to the APY-9 Radar fitted in the rotodome on top of its fuselage.
On August 31, 2020, a Grumman E-2C Hawkeye, the previous version of the aircraft, crashed in a field during a training flight in the same area.