The Navy has recovered the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye that crashed off the coast of Virginia last month.
The aircraft, assigned to Airborne Command and Control Squadron 120 out of Norfolk, went down March 30 during routine flight operations near Wallops Island and Chincoteague, about 100 miles northeast of Norfolk. The crash resulted in the death of a crew member.
Navy divers from Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit 2, along with interagency partners and local and federal actors, salvaged the aircraft April 12. The Navy said the aircraft was cut into several pieces and then hoisted from the water with a sling and crane.
“As Navy Divers, we stand ready to conduct diving and salvage operations in any environment,” Cmdr. Steve Cobos, commanding officer of Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit 2, said in a Navy news release. “We are grateful we could use our salvage expertise to help clear the site and safely recover the aircraft for the community and the surrounding environment.”
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Lt. Hyrum Hanlon, who was commissioned in May 2017 after graduating from Arizona State University, was found deceased in the aircraft. Another two crew members were rescued from the crash and received treatment for non-life-threatening injuries at a local hospital.
The incident is under investigation.
Airborne Command and Control Squadron 120 trains naval pilots, flight officers and aircrewmen to fly E-2 and C-2A Greyhound logistics support aircraft.