Star Advertiser article on P-8A Navy plane that went into Kaneohe Bay
Saturday, November 25th, 2023STAR ADVERTISER – (Navy) Plane in bay spurs environmental (and transparency) concerns
Concerns are growing over military transparency and potential environmental damage to Kaneohe Bay’s coral reefs and marine life after a Navy P-8A aircraft ended up in shallow water while trying to land at Marine Corps Base Hawaii.
The plane — based out of Whidbey Island in Washington — remained surrounded Friday by “containment booms” designed to prevent hazardous materials leeching from the plane and into the bay and ocean.
Environmentalists and elected officials expressed frustration that the Navy’s latest comments on Monday’s mishap came out of San Diego and not directly from Kaneohe-based Marines — especially following criticisms that the Navy for years covered up fuel leaks at its Red Hill storage facility that contaminated Oahu’s drinking water.
But U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda, who lives in Kaneohe and represents rural Oahu, said Col. Jeremy Beaven — commanding officer of Marine Corps Base Hawaii — texted her after the failed landing Monday to set up a phone call with her that evening. Beaven then invited Tokuda to tour the landing site today before she flies back to Washington, D.C., on Monday.
Although the Marines are attached to the Navy, Tokuda said Beaven expressed “a real feeling of personal responsibility. Col. Beaven expressed that ‘this is our community, too.’ I just really appreciate that.”
Tokuda hopes that on Monday — one week after the failed landing — either the Marines or Navy announces a timeline to remove the plane and plans to address any environmental concerns.
The next phases will need to ensure that no further damage to the environment occurs, but “the public will expect some kind of statement,” Tokuda said.
“That is what the public expects and what the public demands,” she said. “But we need to make sure we do not do further harm in trying to remove the vessel.”
The Navy’s Third Fleet, based out of San Diego, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser in an email Friday that sailors from the Navy’s Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit 1 spent Thanksgiving in and around the P-8A helping “to assess, investigate, and plan the safe, expeditious and
PHOTO-The Navy P-8A surveillance plane that overshot the runway at Marine Corps Base Hawaii on Monday remained in Kaneohe Bay on Friday. GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARADVERTISER.COM
environmentally protective recovery of the aircraft” and recovered the plane’s flight data recorder.
The divers also surveyed the plane to evaluate its structural integrity, along with the coral reef and the bay’s ecosystem. But the Navy did not disclose what the divers found.
Previously, in a statement Wednesday, the Third Fleet said, “Preliminary assessments indicate the aircraft to be structurally intact, and there have been no signs of fuel leaking.”
It said, “Primary and secondary containment booms have been deployed,” “Hydrophobic absorbent material” was in place to help absorb potential pollutants and that “specially trained base personnel continue to observe and monitor the area” around the clock looking for pollutants and monitoring impacts on wildlife.
Wayne Tanaka, executive director of the Sierra Club, grew up fishing in waters on and around Kaneohe Bay and expects the Marines and Navy to fully disclose any environmental damage and announce plans and timetables to address any impacts.
“We’ve had all kinds of transparency issues with the Navy’s response to Red Hill and other places across the islands and across the Pacific,” Tanaka said. “There needs to be a full disclosure of any hazardous materials and impacts on the ocean bottom and reef. Because public access is restricted around the base, those waters could act as a refuge for fish and marine life, which then feeds the surrounding area along the bay and the coastline. It’s pretty abundant: veke, oio, papio, awa awa. There are good octopus grounds.”
State Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole (D, Kaneohe-Kailua) lives on the mauka side of Kaneohe Bay from the Marine Corps base and freedives for marine life in waters that are typically only 20 to 30 feet deep, leading to concerns that the plane smashed into coral reefs.
Keohokalole asked the Marines to provide updates directly to the community and to elected officials, and was also disappointed that the last update came from the Navy in San Diego.
Given the Navy’s reputation and record following the Red Hill spills, Keohokalole said, “I would expect them to do so, to bend over backwards. That’s my expectation given everything that’s happened. I don’t want to imply suspicion that doesn’t exist. But people are listening very carefully about what the Navy is saying and what the Navy is going to do.”
He hopes the P-8A caused no environmental damage.
But given the plane’s footprint, stature and its shallow-water landing, that could be unlikely.
Keohokalole wants the Marines to quickly find out “what happened to the reef and what are you going to do about it?” he said. “It’s the Marine Corps’ responsibility to manage those natural resources. I’m not the only one whose attention is focused on what happened to the reef.”
The Boeing-built Poseidon was based on a 737 air frame and stands 42 feet tall, with a wingspan of nearly 124 feet and a length of nearly 130 feet, according to the Navy.
It can be armed with torpedoes and cruise missiles and has a maximum takeoff weight of 189,200 pounds, according to the Navy.
The Navy uses the P-8A Poseidons assigned to Whidbey Island’s “Skinny Dragons” Patrol Squadron 4 for multiple assignments including submarine warfare, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.
Sometime around 2 p.m. Monday, amid cloudy and rainy weather, the three pilots and six crew members overshot their landing at Marine Corps Base Hawaii and ended up in the water instead.
No one was injured. David Henkin spent 11 years on the Kahaluu Neighborhood Board, including as its chair, and understands Kaneohe Bay’s importance.
“That’s a critical, critical resource for the people of the Windward side and a very sensitive resource for the environment,” he said.
“Kaneohe Bay is a very important resource for people for food and has great cultural and biological significance.”
Henkin is now senior attorney for the Earthjustice law firm, which fights on behalf of the environment and also worries how transparent the military will be in response.
Henkin appreciates that the mishap was an accident.
“But they (the Navy) need to learn from their past mistakes,” he said. “They’re our guests here, and they need to be good guests and good stewards of the resources. I would be shocked if there wasn’t some damage from the impact and fuel and other things leaking from that aircraft.”
The Navy, he said, “needs to provide accurate, timely information to the public and elected officials and state agencies” and not “hide information under the guise that it’s part of an investigation. The military needs to compensate the state of Hawaii for the damage they’ve done. They don’t get a free pass.”
The day after the water landing, Navy admirals Tuesday told the state Water Commission that they are committed to “being open and transparent” about Red Hill, Henkin said.
“But talk is cheap and actions speak louder than words,” he said.
Now, on the other side of the island, Henkin said, “We’re seeing the impact on precious, coral reef resources.”
