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.
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.
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.
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.
