The C2-A Greyhound propeller cargo plane went down Wednesday en route to the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan, the fifth accident this year for the Seventh Fleet.
HONG KONG — A search at sea was continuing for three people who were missing after the crash of a United States Navy aircraft near Okinawa, Japan, the Navy said Thursday.
Eight of the 11 passengers and crew members aboard a C2-A Greyhound propeller cargo plane were rescued after the crash Wednesday and were in good condition, the Seventh Fleet said.
The crash was the fifth accident this year for the fleet, which has its headquarters in Japan and is the Navy’s largest fleet overseas. The accidents, including a pair of deadly collisions, led the Navy to relieve the head of the Seventh Fleet of his command in August.
The plane crashed in the Philippine Sea about 500 nautical miles southeast of Okinawa around 2:45 p.m. Wednesday while en route to the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan, the Seventh Fleet said in a statement. The C2-A Greyhound is a model that has been in use for decades to ferry personnel and supplies to and from aircraft carriers at sea.
