US Military Aircraft with 8 Crew Crashes Off Japan, Killing At Least One Crew Member

US Military Aircraft with 8 Crew Crashes Off Japan, Killing At Least One Crew Member

At least one of the eight crew members has been killed in a U.S. military aircraft that crashed into the sea in western Japan on Wednesday. The crash happened at about 2:47 pm (local time) near Yakushima island, which lies south of the country’s southernmost main island Kyushu.

Coast guard aircraft and patrol boats found gray-colored debris believed to be from the aircraft. Several media outlets reported one crew member had died and the condition of at least two hauled from waters was unclear. Japanese broadcaster NHK reported that the Osprey departed from the Iwakuni US base in the Yamaguchi region and was headed for the Kadena base in Okinawa.

The report said that the aircraft was a CV-22 Osprey belonging to the US Yokota air base in Tokyo. Local residents said the aircraft had fire blowing from its left engine as it fell into the sea. In August, another Osprey crashed in northern Australia, killing three US marines among 23 on board. The Boeing MV-22B Osprey crashed on Melville Island, north of Darwin during a military exercise for locally based troops.

The tilt-rotor aircraft, capable of functioning as both a helicopter and a fixed-wing plane, is utilised by the US Marines, US Navy, and the Japan Self-Defense Forces. The Osprey’s presence in Japan has sparked controversy, with critics expressing concerns about its accident susceptibility. Both the US military and Japan maintain that it is safe.

Last year, four US Marines were killed in Norway when their MV-22B Osprey aircraft went down during NATO training exercises. Similarly, three Marines were killed in 2017 when an Osprey crashed after clipping the back of a transport ship while trying to land at sea off Australia’s north coast. As many as 19 Marines died in 2000 when their Osprey crashed during drills in Arizona.

(With agency inputs)