A US Navy P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft crashed into Kaneohe Bay in Oahu after it overshot the runway at Marine Corps Base Hawaii.
The incident occurred on November 20, 2023, at about 13:57 local time when the aircraft, assigned to the US Navy Patrol Squadron Four (VP-4), was landing after a routine training.
There were nine people onboard, who all managed to swim to shore. No one was reported to be injured or harmed.
Aircraft expert Peter Forman told Hawaii News Now that the runway in Kaneohe is shorter than average, and added that bad weather and winds may also have played a part.
“The pilot probably didn’t put the plane down exactly where he wanted to on the runway,” Forman said. “It’s probably a combination of all those factors put together.”
Several photos and video footage of the P-8A Poseidon submerged in the bay have been circulating on social media outlets. The fuselage of the aircraft appears intact, which could be an indication of a low-speed crash.
The P-8A Poseidon is manufactured by Boeing, and is a multi-mission maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft used to conduct long-range maritime and littoral operations, search and rescue missions. It has intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, anti-submarine warfare and anti-surface warfare capabilities.
The Marine Corps Base in Hawaii was built in 1919 and has been actively used since 1952. It is home to over 25,000 Marines, sailors, family members and civilian employees.