HONOLULU (AP) — A U.S. Navy plane overshot the runway and entered a bay in Hawaii on Monday, and when Honolulu Emergency Medical Services arrived at the scene, military officials told emergency workers that all nine people on board had arrived safely. Spokesman Shane Enright said there were no casualties at the beach.
The Coast Guard responded but rescue operations were quickly called off, said Coast Guard spokesman Officer Ryan Fisher.
“It appears that all parties involved have been saved,” he added.
US Marine Corps spokesman Sergeant Orlando Perez said the P-8A plane overshot the runway at Marine Corps Base Kaneohe Bay. He did not have any other information.
A photo taken by a witness showed the plane floating just offshore, a scene reminiscent of the “Miracle of the Hudson River” in 2009 when a commercial plane piloted by Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger made an emergency landing on the New York River. All 155 people on board survived.
The P-8A and the Airbus A320 that Sullenberger flew are about the same size.
Diane Dirks, 61, and her family had just returned to the dock after rainy weather cut short their pontoon boat trip when her daughter noticed the plane in the water.
“We quickly went to the end of the pier, and I took some pictures,” she said.
Then they heard sirens coming from everywhere.
Dirks, who is visiting the area from Illinois, said her daughter keeps birdwatching binoculars so she can see the plane and rescue boats arriving.
“It was unbelievable,” she said.
It was cloudy and rainy during the afternoon at the time of the accident. Visibility was about 1 mile (1.6 kilometers), said Thomas Vaughan, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Honolulu.
The P-8A is often used to hunt submarines and used for reconnaissance and intelligence gathering. It is manufactured by Boeing and shares many parts with the 737 commercial airliner.
The base is located about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from Honolulu on Oahu.
The aircraft belongs to the Skinny Dragons of the 4th Patrol Squadron based on Whidbey Island in Washington State. The patrol squadrons were previously based at Kaneohe Bay, but are now deployed to Hawaii on a rotational basis.
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Dupuis reported from New York City.
