Article Posted on : - Apr 01, 2010

The US Navy's E-2C Hawkeye aircraft.

MANAMA, USA (BNS): A US Navy plane, with four crew members on board, crashed in the North Arabian Sea on Wednesday while returning from conducting operations in Afghanistan.

While three crew members were rescued, search operations continued to trace the missing crew, the Navy said in a statement.

The Navy has deployed helicopters from guided missile destroyer USS Carney and replenishment ship, USNS Supply, along with other aircraft to help in the rescue efforts.

The E-2C Hawkeye aircraft was returning after conducting operations in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. The plane was returning to its platform, aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, when it experienced "mechanical malfunctions", the Navy said.

After informing the aircraft carrier to conduct a controlled bailout, the aircraft impacted the water approximately five miles from the ship, the Navy statement said.

The E-2C Hawkeye is an all-weather airborn early-warning aircraft used by the US naval forces to conduct command and control, surveillance, and search and rescue missions. The aircraft is primarily used to warn the naval forces of approaching air threats and provide threat identification data to fighter aircraft.