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Two Hawkeyes in accident aboard Truman
Posted : Tuesday Dec 11, 2012 17:51:36 EST
Two E-2C Hawkeyes were involved in an accident Sunday while on the deck of the aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman.
One Hawkeye’s starboard wing hit the spinning port propeller of an adjacent Hawkeye while they were chocked and chained on the flight deck, according to a one-line summary from the Naval Safety Center.
The Hawkeyes were on the flight deck with their wings folded up,
according to a source who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The accident occurred after one of the wings on the plane lowered, hitting the other’s nearby propeller. It’s unclear at this time why the wings lowered.
No one was inside either aircraft when this happened and no one was hurt. The matter is being investigated.
The mishap occurred in the Virginia Capes, where the Truman is underway as a part of an evaluation for the Unmanned Combat Air System Carrier Demonstration program.
A team of sailors with Naval Air Systems Command and contractors from Northrop Grumman are onboard testing the X-47B, a full-size, unmanned and tailless autonomous plane. So far they have taxied the aircraft on the Truman’s deck, a first for unmanned carrier aviation, and are working towards a catapult launch, another first.
The mishap did not impact the testing schedule, the source said.
It’s unclear if the Hawkeyes are airworthy. What squadron the Hawkeyes were assigned to was not immediately available.
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