NAVY PLANE CRASH

3 missing in Pacific

Eight people were rescued and three remained missing Wednesday after a Navy cargo plane crashed into the western Pacific Ocean while en route to the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, the Navy said.

The C-2A Greyhound, which had taken off from Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Japan, went down about 500 nautical miles southeast of Okinawa as it was ferrying passengers and cargo to the carrier, according to the 7th Fleet.

All of the rescued personnel were transferred to the Reagan for medical evaluation and were in good condition.

The carrier was operating in the Philippine Sea during a joint exercise with Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force when the twin-prop plane crashed at 2:45 p.m. Japan time.

Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera told reporters the US Navy had informed him that the crash may have been a result of engine trouble, Reuters reported.

The White House said that President Trump had been briefed on the crash at his Mar-a-Lago retreat in Florida, where he is spending the Thanksgiving holiday.

“We are monitoring the situation. Prayers for all involved,” the president tweeted.

The joint exercise off Okinawa was described by the Navy as the “premier training event” between the US and Japanese navies designed to increase defensive readiness in air and sea operations.

The 7th Fleet has had two fatal accidents in Asian waters this year, leaving 17 sailors dead and prompting the removal of eight top Navy officers from their posts, including fleet commander Vice Adm. Joseph Aucoin.

The C-2A aircraft, which have been in operation for more than five decades, are due to be replaced by the long-range tilt-rotor Osprey aircraft.

Accidents involving the high-wing planes are rare, according to the Flight Safety Foundation’s Aviation Safety Network database. Since the 1960s, there have been nine such aircraft losses, six of which were fatal, killing a total of 59 people.