Navy crew jumped from surveillance plane before it crashed
The four-man crew had strapped on parachutes before taking off.
Four sailors jumped from their twin-propeller E-2C Hawkeye aircraft before it crashed in Accomack County, Virginia, Monday afternoon, according to a Navy official.
"The two pilots and two crewmembers bailed out of the aircraft safely," a statement from Cmdr. Jennifer Cragg of Naval Air Force Atlantic said.
![PHOTO: An E-2C Hawkeye aircraft crashed in Accomack County, Va., Aug. 31, 2020.](https://s.abcnews.com/images/Politics/Nelsonia-2-ht-er-200831_1598917769482_hpEmbed_19x15_992.jpg)
The crew strapped on parachutes when they boarded the plane, as is required, before flying out of Naval Station Norfolk for a training mission Monday, Cragg told ABC News. When they ran into trouble, they bailed out of the main cabin door and were recovered safe on the ground.
![PHOTO: An E-2C Hawkeye aircraft crashed in Accomack County, Va., Aug. 31, 2020.](https://s.abcnews.com/images/Politics/Nelsonia-1-ht-er-200831_1598917493509_hpMain.jpg)
The E-2C, a command-and-control type aircraft with a large, distinctive radar dish atop its fuselage, crashed in the vicinity of Wallops Island at about 3:50 p.m., Cragg said. The plane is capable of carrying out surveillance missions and can be launched from aircraft carriers.
The E-2C that crashed Monday was assigned to Airborne Command & Control Squadron (VAW) 120 Fleet Replacement Squadron, based in Norfolk.
![PHOTO: Aviation Electricians Mate 3rd Class Dennies Damaso, directs an E-2C Hawkeye as it returns to Norfolk following a seven-month deployment aboard the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush, Dec. 7, 2011, in Norfolk, Va.](https://s.abcnews.com/images/Politics/Hawkeye-ht-er-200831_1598918806799_hpEmbed_7x5_992.jpg)
There was no immediate indication of harm to people or structures on the ground, the Navy statement said. The cause of the mishap is under investigation.