An S-3B Viking warplane from the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis crashed during an exercise in the Pacific near Japan on Tuesday and four crew members are listed as missing, the U.S. Navy said. Search-and-rescue efforts were being conducted by the Stennis and another carrier taking part in the exercise, the USS Kitty Hawk, the U.S. Seventh Fleet in Japan said in a statement. The cause of the crash was being investigated, according to the statement. The incident took place 45 miles (70 km) off the coast of the island of Iwo Jima during an annual training exercise involving U.S. Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps forces near the Japanese island of Okinawa. The jet was conducting a "routine training mission" when it went missing, Seventh Fleet said. The Viking is a workhorse U.S. Navy warplane, used by aircraft carrier battle groups for missions ranging from aerial refueling of other planes to radar jamming and attacking enemy ships with missiles.
