US military aircraft crashes into ocean off Japan

us military aircraft crashes into ocean off japan

The aircraft has the vertical takeoff and landing capabilities of a helicopter, but also has speed and range

A US Osprey military aircraft with eight people on board crashed on Wednesday off the coast of Japan, the coastguard said.

“We received information at 2:47 p.m. (0547 GMT/UTC) today that the US military’s Osprey crashed off Yakushima Island,” a spokeswoman told the AFP news agency.

The Osprey is a tiltrotor aircraft that combines the vertical takeoff, hovering and landing capabilities of a helicopter with the long-range, fuel efficiency and speed characteristics of a turboprop aircraft.

It has been deployed in transportation and medical evacuation operations over Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, and Kuwait.

Yakushima lies south of Japan’s southernmost main island Kyushu.

The crash comes after another Osprey crashed in northern Australia in August during a military exercise for locally based troops. Three US marines among 23 on board died in that incident on Melville Island, north of Darwin.

Details about what happened to the aircraft were not immediately known, the coastguard said.

Officials had received an emergency call from a fishing boat near the crash site. It was not immediately clear which US base the Osprey belonged to, although it was believed to be heading from Iwakuni to Okinawa.

rc/fb (AFP, Reuters)

News Related

OTHER NEWS

Volkswagen "very worried" about the future of its operations in SA

A senior Volkswagen executive involved in a global cost-cutting strategy said on Friday, 24 November, he was “very worried” about the future of the company’s operations in South Africa, which ... Read more »

Liz Truss backs Trump with call for Republican presidential victory

Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters Liz Truss, the shortest-serving prime minister in British history, who was famously shown to have a shorter shelf life than a lettuce, has effectively backed Donald Trump ... Read more »

Standard Bank treasonous? We're literally helping to keep the lights on says CEO

Standard Bank treasonous? We're literally helping to keep the lights on says CEO Bruce Whitfield speaks to Lungisa Fuzile, Standard Bank SA CEO. Standard Bank is one of 28 banks ... Read more »

Israel, Hamas agree to extend truce for two days; Musk ‘would like to help rebuild Gaza’

Israel, Hamas agree to extend truce for two days; Musk ‘would like to help rebuild Gaza’ The UN said many people in Gaza still had no food or cooking fuel ... Read more »

This is what Pitso Mosimane said about the African Football League

Mamelodi Sundowns’ former coach, Pitso Mosimane, dismissed the African Football League Jingles shared his opinion and compared it to the CAF league and said that it was a mere tournament ... Read more »

Take note of these N3 road works between Westville and Paradise Valley

Take note of these N3 road works between Westville and Paradise Valley The N3 between the Westville viaduct and Paradise Valley interchange will be partially closed to traffic for the ... Read more »

UKZN medical student bags 2023 Health Excellence Rising Star Award

UKZN medical student bags 2023 Health Excellence Rising Star Award Durban — One of the country’s most progressive young minds in the medical field, fifth-year University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) medical ... Read more »
Top List in the World