Navy Scraps P-8 Poseidon That Ran Off The Runway In Hawaii Two Years Ago
The U.S. Navy is scrapping a P-8A Poseidon that ended up in Hawaii’s Kaneohe Bay back in 2023, marking the first total loss of one of these aircraft. The service was initially hopeful that the plane could be returned to service, but ultimately decided it would be too costly to do so.
The P-8A in question ran off the runway at Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay, part of Marine Corps Base Hawaii, on November 20, 2023. All nine members of the crew were uninjured in the mishap and were able to return to shore. The aircraft, which was assigned to Patrol Squadron Four (VP-4) at the time, suffered significant damage, which was further compounded by the roughly two weeks it spent sitting in saltwater. A complex retrieval operation was executed to get the aircraft back on land, as you can read more about here. At the time of writing, the results of any investigation into the incident do not appear to be publicly available.
“The Navy’s P-8A Fleet Support Team, Boeing (P-8A Original Equipment Manufacturer), and AAR (P-8A Airframe Maintenance Repair and Overhaul provider) conducted a comprehensive airworthiness, engineering, and repair assessment of the aircraft structure and systems,” a spokesperson for Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) told TWZ in a statement today. “As a result of the extensive repair requirements, necessity for unique aircraft manufacturing representative support equipment, and estimated cost required to return the aircraft to service in a mission capable configuration, pursuing a repair of the aircraft was determined to be cost prohibitive.”
The first sign that the P-8A was being scrapped came in the form of the video seen above, which first began circulating on social media last week.
“Following a formal aircraft strike authorization, the Navy proceeded with demilitarization and disposal of the P-8A aircraft involved in the 2023 mishap,” the NAVAIR spokesperson added. “Those activities are currently in progress in Hawaii and expected to be complete by August 2025.”
https://www.twz.com/air/navy-scraps-p-8a-poseidon-that-ran-off-the-runway-in-hawaii-two-years-ago