Navy crew bails out of plane before crash during training flight

Two Navy pilots and two crew members were forced to bail out of an E-2C Hawkeye plane before it crashed Monday during a training flight over the Virginia coast.

No one was injured in the crash, which happened at approximately 4:05 p.m. in the vicinity of Wallops Island in Accomack County, the Navy said.

Initial reports “indicate no structures or personnel on the ground were damaged or injured in the mishap,” Navy spokesperson Cmdr. Jennifer Cragg said in a statement.

The E-2C Hawkeye — a carrier-based early warning aircraft — had been assigned to Airborne Command & Control Squadron (VAW) 120 Fleet Replacement Squadron on board Naval Station Norfolk.

The cause of the incident is under investigation.

This is the second training crash within the past week. Two Army soldiers were killed Thursday on San Clemente Island, Calif., when their Black Hawk helicopter crashed. Three other soldiers were injured.

On July 30, seven Marines and one Navy sailor were killed when their amphibious assault vehicle sank off the coast of San Clemente during a training exercise.