Japanese officials announced on Thursday that they are halting the operations of their Osprey military aircraft following the crash of a U.S. Air Force Osprey plane off the Japanese coast. At least one crew member was killed and seven others are missing.
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The U.S. forces stationed in Japan have also been asked to cease all Osprey flights until the safety of these aircraft can be confirmed. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno, the top spokesperson for the Japanese government, said in a press conference that Japanese Osprey flights will remain suspended until the circumstances surrounding the accident are clarified. Despite this suspension, Japanese search-and-rescue missions have continued overnight.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Osprey was involved in a routine training mission when it tragically crashed into the ocean near Yakushima, an island approximately 45 miles south of the Kagoshima region on Kyushu, the southern main island of Japan. Sadly, an unidentified crew member was discovered unconscious and not breathing near the accident site and was declared dead.
Japanese officials have confirmed that the body of the crew member has been transferred to U.S. military personnel on Thursday. At present, the cause of the crash and the condition of the other crew members remain uncertain.
Rahm Emanuel, the U.S. ambassador to Japan, expressed his gratitude on Thursday to the Japanese Coast Guard, Japanese Self-Defense Forces, and the local community and fishermen who are diligently assisting in the ongoing search-and-rescue operations.
The Japanese Coast Guard is deploying a device called "side scan sonar" to search underwater for the missing crew members of the aircraft. This device, towed by a patrol boat, captures images of the ocean floor to locate any potential wreckage.
Unfortunately, no new leads have been found at this time, according to the 10th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters in Kagoshima Prefecture. The CV-22B Osprey, belonging to the 353rd Special Operations Wing and based at Yokota Air Base, is a unique American aircraft that combines the capabilities of a helicopter and an airplane. It can vertically take off, land, and hover like a helicopter, but also rotate its propellers for faster flight like a conventional airplane.
In recent years, there have been a series of accidents involving planes, specifically the Osprey aircraft, which are used at both Japanese and U.S. military bases. These incidents have raised concerns regarding safety. One notable accident occurred in August when an Osprey crashed in Australia during a routine training exercise, resulting in the death of the pilot and two others, while 23 U.S. Marines were on board.
In 2020, Japan made history by becoming the first foreign country to possess and operate the Osprey aircraft.
Following the report of the U.S. Osprey crash on Wednesday afternoon, the Japanese Coast Guard promptly dispatched patrol vessels and aircraft to the scene. Rescue teams discovered debris resembling wreckage and an overturned life raft, but no individuals were found inside it.
