Navy plane overshoots runway at Hawaiian base, lands in ocean

A U.S. Navy surveillance plane overshot its landing strip at a Marine base in Hawaii on Monday, scooting into the shallow waters of Kaneohe Bay.

All nine people on board the plane escaped without injuries, according to the military.

The Coast Guard scrambled a rescue mission but quickly called it off, said Petty Officer Ryan Fisher, a Coast Guard spokesman.

The P-8A Poseidon aircraft is used mainly as a surveillance aircraft and resembles a common commercial aircraft, the Boeing 737-800.

Visibility was about 1 mile when the plane skittered off the runaway around 2 p.m. Monday, according to meteorologist Thomas Vaughan at the National Weather Service. The runaway at Marine Corps Base Hawaii at Kaneohe Bay is also relatively short.

“The pilot probably didn’t put the plane down exactly where he wanted to on the runway,” aviation expert Peter Forman told Honolulu CBS affiliate KGMB. “It’s probably a combination of all those factors put together.”

A family visiting Hawaii saw the plane go into the water and snapped photos, which somewhat resemble the famous “Miracle on the Hudson” by Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger.

“We went running over to the end of the dock, and I took some pictures,” tourist Diane Dircks said. “It was unbelievable.”

Marine Corps Base Hawaii is one of several U.S. military installations in Hawaii. It sits 10 miles north of Honolulu on the island of Oahu.

With News Wire Services