CHINCOTEAGUE, Va. — The U.S. Navy said two people were injured and one person was killed after a military plane crashed near Chincoteague, Virginia, on Wednesday night.
According to a U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) spokesperson, the crash happened around 7:30 p.m. off the Wildcat Marsh, which is near Chincoteague, Virginia, and involved a military plane.
A Navy spokesperson said the E-2D Hawkeye was based out of Naval Station Norfolk and doing a routine flight operation. The USGC initially reported the plane as being an Osprey but Navy officials confirm it was actually a Hawkeye.
The USCG sent a 47-foot lifeboat and helicopter to help with search efforts. A NASA Wallops spokesperson said emergency crews were sent out around 7:45 p.m. to help as well.
It was the Maryland State Police who got to the two surviving crewmembers first, according to a spokesman for Naval Air Force Atlantic. The officers took the survivors to get medical help at Wallops Island.
The name of the crew member who died hasn't been shared. The spokesman said the Navy wants to notify his or her next-of-kin before they make that public.
On Wednesday night, Macaulay Porter, Gov. Glenn Youngkin's spokesperson, said the governor was monitoring the situation.
She added: "The governor and the First Lady are keeping the aviators, their families, and the first responders in their thoughts and prayers."
U.S. Rep. Elaine Luria tweeted that she was keeping the service members in her prayers.
"I’m keeping our naval aviators, their families, and our first responders in my thoughts and prayers tonight as rescue and recovery efforts continue," Luria said.
The plane, an advanced tactical airborne early warning aircraft, is based out of Naval Station Norfolk and assigned to an East Coast Airborne Command and Control Squadron.
This is the second Hawkeye aircraft to have gone down on the Eastern Shore in recent years. An E-2C Hawkeye crashed in a farmer's field in August of 2020. All four crew members bailed out safely before that crash.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.