1 dead, 2 rescued after US Navy plane crashes near Virginia shore

One person is dead and two others were injured after a U.S. Navy aircraft crashed in waters near the Eastern Shore boundary of Virginia and Maryland on Wednesday night, military officials said.

Lt. Cmdr. Rob Myers, a spokesman with Naval Air Force Atlantic, said an E2-D Hawkeye plane cashed just north of Chincoteague Island in Accomack County, Virginia, while doing a routine exercise around 7:30 p.m.

Three people were on board the aircraft. Two were injured and rescued by U.S. Coast Guard, and one was found dead, Myers said.

The plane was an advanced tactical airborne early warning aircraft based out of Naval Station Norfolk and assigned to an East Coast Airborne Command and Control Squadron.

Naval Air Force Atlantic Public Affairs said the two injured crew members did not have life-threatening injuries, WAVY-TV reported.

The identity of the deceased crew member will be released after next of kin have been notified. The Navy said the accident is being investigated.

Coast Guard Mid-Atlantic region confirmed to WAVY that crews responded to a downed aircraft in the water near Wildcat Marsh, just north of the town of Chincoteague, near Virginia's border with Maryland.

Ryan Whittington, a spokesman for Maryland’s Ocean City Fire Department, told the Associated Press that first responders were on the scene shortly after the plane crashed in Chincoteague Bay near the community of Stockton.

Whittington said that a volunteer fire department in Stockton was the first to respond to the crash.

He said waters in the bay were relatively calm as rescuers dove into the bay to recover the two injured crew members. WRIC-TV reported that the two people rescued had broken legs. The deceased crew member was last seen strapped in for flight and went down with the plane, which was partially submerged.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) issued a statement on the crash Thursday.

“Last night, the First Lady and I were devastated to learn that a Navy E-2D aircraft operating out of Naval Air Station Norfolk crashed in the vicinity of Chincoteague, Virginia. We are heartbroken by the loss of one of our great Navy service members in Virginia," Youngkin said.

"Our hearts go out to the Naval crew members, their families as well as the members of Naval Air Force Atlantic. This serves as a reminder that our great servicemen and women risk their lives every day to serve our country,” he said.