On Wednesday, a US military Osprey aircraft, which was carrying six individuals, met with an unfortunate accident and crashed into the southern part of Japan. The Japanese coast guard officials were immediately alerted and a search and rescue operation was launched.
Despite the best efforts of the rescue team, the crew member could not be saved and was declared dead by the coast guard officials.
🚨Update: Another US military aircraft crash with eight casualties in Asia!
The US military Osprey transport aircraft with eight troops on board crashes off the coast of Japan!
More US casualties in Ukraine that need to be accounted for?? pic.twitter.com/hm2ANWxxX0
— US Civil Defense News (@CaptCoronado) November 29, 2023
Kazuo Ogawa, a coast guard spokesperson, has stated that the cause of the crash and the status of the remaining five individuals aboard the aircraft are still unknown.
There was initially some confusion regarding the number of people on board the aircraft. The first reports suggested that there were eight individuals on the aircraft. However, the US military later clarified and revised this number down to six, according to Ogawa.
The situation is fluid and the details are still emerging. The focus right now is on locating the remaining crew members and determining the cause of this tragic accident.
BREAKING 🚨
US military Osprey aircraft with 6 aboard crashes off southern Japan 🇯🇵 and at least 1 is dead‼️
A crew member who was recovered from the ocean after a U.S. military Osprey aircraft carrying six people crashed Wednesday off southern Japan has been pronounced dead,… pic.twitter.com/YJvRl9kssY
— SANTINO (@MichaelSCollura) November 29, 2023
An emergency situation unfolded off the coast of Yakushima, Japan’s southernmost main island. The incident came to light when the coast guard received a distress call from a fishing boat that was in the area of the crash site.
The fishing boat, engaged in its routine activities, found itself thrust into a critical situation, playing a crucial role in alerting the authorities about the incident.
The coast guard’s search and rescue operation led to the discovery of one individual from the crashed aircraft. Despite immediate medical attention and being rushed to a nearby hospital, the individual was unfortunately pronounced dead. This tragic news was shared by Kazuo Ogawa, the spokesperson for the coast guard.
The coast guard also discovered debris in the ocean, which is believed to be remnants of the crashed Osprey aircraft. The debris, described as being gray in color, was found approximately 1 kilometer (or 0.6 mile) off the eastern coast of Yakushima.
An empty inflatable life raft was also located in the same vicinity. The presence of the life raft suggests that there may have been an attempt to abandon the aircraft following the incident.
In a statement to the press, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno emphasized the government’s commitment to the ongoing rescue operations.
“The government will confirm information about the damage and place the highest priority on saving lives,”
The Osprey, officially known as the MV-22 Osprey, is a unique piece of aviation technology developed by the United States.
During takeoff and landing, the Osprey operates as a helicopter, with its engine nacelles vertically oriented and the rotors in a horizontal position. It is used across various branches of the U.S. military, including the Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force.
According to Ogawa, the aircraft involved in the incident had embarked on its journey from the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, which is located in Yamaguchi Prefecture.
The aircraft was en route to the Kadena Air Base, situated on the island of Okinawa.
According to Hiroyuki Miyazawa, the Vice Defense Minister of Japan, the Osprey aircraft was involved in an emergency situation that necessitated an attempted landing at sea.
Kyodo News agency, a respected Japanese media outlet, has reported an account of the incident that includes details from officials in Kagoshima Prefecture. According to these officials, there were eyewitness accounts of the incident that described seeing flames emanating from the left engine of the Osprey aircraft.
In a recent events, the military base located in Saga, has made the decision to delay the scheduled flight exercises involving the Osprey aircraft, this decision was made on Thursday
The postponement will provide an opportunity for a thorough review of all safety procedures and protocols associated with the Osprey flights.
According to statements from both U.S. and Japanese officials, the aircraft in question is reported to be part of the fleet at Yokota Air Base.
They are diligently working to gather all the necessary information to provide a comprehensive understanding of the situation. As of now, they have not released any immediate comments regarding the incident.
The Osprey aircraft, has unfortunately been involved in several accidents in the past. These incidents have occurred in various locations, including Japan, where the aircraft is deployed at both U.S. and Japanese military bases.
In Okinawa, a region that hosts approximately half of the 50,000 American troops stationed in Japan, concerns about the safety of the Osprey have been raised. Governor Denny Tamaki, in a press conference on Wednesday, expressed his intention to request the U.S. military to halt all Osprey flights across Japan.
Back in December 2016, an incident involving a U.S. Marine Corps Osprey aircraft occurred off the coast of Okinawa. The aircraft, while maintaining the speed and range of a fixed-wing plane, unfortunately crashed during operations.
This unfortunate event resulted in injuries to two out of the five crew members on board. Thankfully, there were no fatalities reported, but the incident did result in physical harm to the crew members involved.
The crash sparked a wave of complaints from local residents in Okinawa. The presence of U.S. bases in their region, coupled with this incident, led to heightened concerns about the safety record of the Osprey aircraft.
In August, a tragic incident occurred involving a U.S. Marine Corps MV-22B Osprey aircraft during a multinational training exercise. The aircraft, which was carrying 23 Marines, crashed on Melville Island, a northern island in Australia.
This particular Osprey was part of a larger training exercise known as Exercise Predators Run, which involved the militaries of the United States, Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and East Timor.
The crash resulted in the loss of three lives,
Five other Marines were also critically injured and were flown to the mainland city of Darwin for hospital treatment. Seventeen other marines were taken to hospital and treated for minor injuries.
The MV-22 Osprey, a tiltrotor aircraft used by the U.S. Marine Corps, has unfortunately been involved in a number of fatal accidents since 2012. As of the time of the crash on Melville Island in Australia, there had been five fatal crashes involving Marine Ospreys since 2012. These incidents have tragically resulted in the loss of at least 19 lives.
ALSO READ | Search for Missing F-35B Fighter Jet Ends with Discovery of Wreckage in South Carolina