US military Osprey aircraft crashes in southern Japan, one crew member dead
TOKYO (AP) — A U.S. military Osprey aircraft carrying eight people crashed Wednesday off southern Japan. Coast guard officials reported that one crew member was recovered from the ocean and has been pronounced dead.
The cause of the crash and the status of the seven others on board were not immediately known, according to coast guard spokesperson Kazuo Ogawa. The Osprey was carrying eight crew and is an Air Force aircraft, a U.S. official stated on condition of anonymity. Earlier reports had said the aircraft was carrying six or eight people. The official could not provide further information pending notification of next of kin.
The Osprey is a hybrid aircraft that takes off and lands like a helicopter but can rotate its propellers forward and cruise much faster like an airplane. Despite its unique design, Ospreys have had a number of accidents in the past, including in Japan, where they are deployed at U.S. and Japanese military bases. In response to the crash, Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki intends to ask the U.S. military to suspend all Osprey flights in Japan.
According to Ogawa, the coast guard received an emergency call from a fishing boat near the crash site. They found one person dead and located debris and an empty inflatable life raft.
The aircraft requested an emergency landing at the Yakushima airport about five minutes before it disappeared from radar, with a Yakushima resident reporting seeing the aircraft upside down and on fire before it exploded and fell into the sea.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida plans to seek further explanation from the U.S. military, while Japanese Vice Defense Minister Hiroyuki Miyazawa said the U.S. military reported that the pilot “did everything possible until the last minute.” The aircraft had departed from the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni and crashed on its way to Kadena Air Base on Okinawa.
The Osprey’s safety record and previous incidents have led to concerns among both local residents and US officials. This is not the first time a U.S. military Osprey has crashed, with similar incidents in Okinawa and Australia. In August 2017, a U.S. Marine Corps Osprey with 23 Marines aboard crashed on a north Australian island, resulting in at least three fatalities and critically injuring at least five. At the time of this incident, it was the fifth fatal crash of a Marine Osprey since 2012.
Associated Press writer Tara Copp in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.