“US military Osprey crash near Japan’s Yakushima claims one life, ongoing investigation.”
A US military aircraft carrying six individuals has tragically crashed near Yakushima Island in south-western Japan. Japan’s Coast Guard reported that one person was found deceased in close proximity to the crash site. The incident involved a CV-22 Osprey, a hybrid aircraft capable of functioning as both a helicopter and a turboprop plane, which reportedly attempted to land at Yakushima Airport while one of its engines was ablaze. As of now, there has been no official comment from the United States regarding the incident.
Over the years, Osprey aircraft have been associated with several fatal accidents, and this latest crash adds to the string of such occurrences. The ill-fated aircraft was reportedly en route from the Iwakuni base in western Yamaguchi prefecture to the Kadena base in the south-westernmost Okinawa region of Japan. According to Japan’s defense ministry, the aircraft vanished from radar screens around 14:40 local time on Wednesday, with a distress call reaching the Coast Guard just five minutes later, confirming the crash.
Following the distress call, the Coast Guard swiftly dispatched six boats and two helicopters to the site. By 16:00, the helicopters had identified what appeared to be a section of the plane and a life raft, according to a spokesperson speaking to the BBC. Initially, reports indicated eight individuals on board, but this figure was later corrected by the Coast Guard. They released photographs depicting what is believed to be the wreckage of the aircraft off Yakushima.
An eyewitness who spoke to local TV recounted that the plane had been circling in the air before erupting into an explosion and crashing into the sea on Wednesday. Concurrently, another Osprey aircraft flying alongside the crashed plane managed to make a safe landing at Yakushima, as confirmed by local officials.
Yakushima, situated in Kagoshima prefecture, lies to the south of Japan’s Kyushu island. The incident has occurred within a context where more than 50,000 US troops are stationed across various locations in Japan. This calamity follows a similar incident in August involving a different model of the Osprey, which crashed during a military exercise in northern Australia, claiming the lives of three US marines among the 23 personnel on board. In a separate 2017 accident, three marines lost their lives when an Osprey crashed while attempting to land at sea off Australia’s northern coast after colliding with the back of a transport ship.
