TOKYO—A U.S. military Osprey aircraft carrying six personnel crashed on Wednesday off the coast of southern Japan. A crew member that was pulled from the ocean has been declared deceased, according to Coast Guard officials.
According to Coast Guard spokesperson Kazuo Ogawa, the cause of the crash and the whereabouts of the other five passengers aboard the aircraft were not immediately known. He claimed that although the U.S. military later changed the number of passengers on board from eight to six, the first reports stated that many.
He stated that close to the crash scene off Yakushima, an island south of Kagoshima on the southern main island of Kyushu, the coast guard received an emergency contact from a fishing boat.
According to Mr. Ogawa, gray-colored debris thought to be from the aircraft and one individual who was subsequently declared dead at a local hospital were discovered by Coast Guard surveillance boats and helicopters. They were discovered roughly one kilometer (0.6 mile) off Yakushima's eastern coast. There was also an inflatable life raft that was empty nearby.
“The government will confirm information about the damage and place the highest priority on saving lives,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters.
The Osprey is a hybrid aircraft that can rotate its propellers forward and cruise at a considerably quicker speed than an airplane while in flight. It takes off and lands like a helicopter. The United States pilots versions of the aircraft. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps.
The plane had left the United States, according to Mr. Ogawa. While traveling to Kadena Air Base on Okinawa, the aircraft crashed out of the Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Yamaguchi Prefecture.
According to Japanese Vice Defense Minister Hiroyuki Miyazawa, the Osprey made an attempt at a sea landing in an emergency.
Kagoshima prefectural officials, cited by Kyodo News agency, stated that witnesses saw fire emanating from the left engine of the Osprey.
It stated that scheduled Osprey flight drills were postponed on Thursday at a Japanese military base located in Saga, southern Japan.
According to American and Japanese sources, the plane was from Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo. Yokota-based U.S. Air Force officials stated they were currently verifying information and could not provide a timely response.
Ospreys are stationed at both Japanese and American military installations in Japan, where they have experienced a number of mishaps in the past. About half of the 50,000 American troops stationed in Japan are headquartered on Okinawa. Governor Denny Tamaki announced to reporters on Wednesday that he will request that the US military halt all Osprey flights within Japan.
December of 2016 saw a U.S. Two of the five crew members were hurt when the Marine Corps Osprey crashed off the coast of Okinawa, leading to concerns from the locals regarding the safety record of the Osprey and the U.S. bases.
During a multinational training operation in August, a U.S. Marine Corps Osprey carrying 23 Marines crashed on a north Australian island, killing at least three and seriously injuring at least five.
Since 2012, there have been five deadly Marine Osprey crashes, totaling at least 19 fatalities at that point.
