KANEOHE BAY, Hawaii — The U.S. Navy mentioned Monday that it has eliminated practically all the gas from a big airplane that overshot a Hawaii runway and landed in an environmentally delicate bay, however it does not have a timetable for when it’ll get the plane out of the water.
Rear Adm. Kevin Lenox mentioned there was an estimated 2,000 gallons (7,500 liters) of gas on board the P-8A.
“The crew extracted all of the gas that they might get out of these tanks. This course of was accomplished efficiently with none gas being launched into the bay,” Lenox mentioned at a information convention. Eradicating the gas will scale back the dangers for the remainder of the salvage operation, he mentioned.
There have been no accidents to the 9 individuals who had been on board when the airplane landed Nov. 20 in shallow water simply offshore of Marine Corps Base Hawaii at Kaneohe Bay. The bottom is about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from Honolulu.
Cmdr. Mark Anderson, who’s main the Navy’s cellular diving and salvage unit working on the web site, mentioned the airplane was sitting on a combination of coral and sand. The left engine is resting on coral. The airplane rises a bit of with the tide, so the complete weight of the airplane will not be on the coral, he mentioned.
Kaneohe Bay is residence to coral reefs, an historic Hawaiian fishpond and a breeding floor for hammerhead sharks.
There could have been some minor harm to the coral however there didn’t seem like “huge chunks lacking,” Anderson mentioned. Nonetheless, the main target at present is on stabilizing the airplane and growing a plan to maneuver it, he mentioned.
State environmental officers anticipate to conduct a harm evaluation as soon as the airplane is eliminated.
The Navy is learning two choices for transferring the plane, defined Lenox.
The primary is to drift it and get it inside vary of a crane on the runway. Then it will be lifted onto the runway and set down on its touchdown gear, which remains to be in good situation. The second possibility is to drift it on prime of cylinders and roll it up onto the runway.
Lenox mentioned the Navy has three priorities whereas it does this work: security of the salvage crew, defending the atmosphere and preserving the potential of the plane.
The Navy now has three momentary floating boundaries across the P-8A plane at its resting spot to forestall any potential gas spill or different contaminants from polluting the ocean.
The Navy hasn’t had indications or studies that any gas leaked from the airplane, Lenox mentioned. The Navy additionally examined the eliminated gas and located that no water had seeped into it, which indicated the airplane’s gas system was nonetheless intact.
Along with the floating boundaries, the Navy has positioned materials across the airplane to assist take in any potential pollution and supply early warning of petroleum spills. The Navy has additionally saved a skimmer on standby so it might take away any pollution shortly.
On Thursday, sailors retrieved the information recorder and carried out a hydrographic survey to evaluate the airplane’s structural integrity.
The Navy has come underneath intense scrutiny in Hawaii for its environmental stewardship and transparency after jet gas leaked from a World Struggle II-era gas storage facility into Pearl Harbor’s ingesting water in 2021. Some 6,000 Navy personnel, their dependents and civilians complained of bodily illnesses after the spill. After mounting strain, the Navy agreed to empty the tanks, an operation that’s at present underway.
Lenox mentioned he’s conscious of the mistrust in the neighborhood towards the Navy and is striving to be clear. He mentioned the state of Hawaii’s on-scene commander noticed the defueling of the airplane and requested that the Navy set up a 3rd momentary protecting barrier across the airplane. The Navy complied.
The Navy makes use of P-8A planes to seek for submarines and to conduct surveillance and reconnaissance. Manufactured by Boeing, the airplane is a navy model of the 737 passenger jet.
The airplane is assigned to Patrol Squadron 4 stationed at Whidbey Island in Washington state. Patrol squadrons had been as soon as based mostly at Kaneohe Bay however now deploy to Hawaii on a rotating foundation.
The Navy has flown out one other P-8A from Washington state to hold out patrol duties rather than the incapacitated jet. It’s flying out of Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, on the opposite facet of Oahu.
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