One confirmed fatality in U.S. military aircraft crash off the coast of Japan

 

Six people were on board an American military Osprey aircraft when it crashed into the water close to Yakushima, an island south of Kyushu, Japan. It is confirmed that one person died. Eight people were reported by the Coast Guard at first, but that number was subsequently changed. Recovered 1.8 miles from the scene of the accident, the crew member was found unconscious and not breathing. He was later declared dead at the hospital.

Japan US Osprey Search (AP) © AP

Japan's coast guard responded to the situation at 2:47 p.m. following a public report. local time. A life raft that had overturned and wreckage-like debris was found by a rescue squad at about 4 p.m. The biggest US base is Kadena Air Base. An Air Force base in the area has not responded right away. Kadena Air Base, the largest U.S. Air Force base in the region, has not provided immediate comments.

The aircraft involved was a U.S.-built CV-22 Osprey, according to Japan's Vice Defense Minister, Hiroyuki Miyazawa. Air Force Base Yokota. Based on data from the U.S. side, Miyazawa highlighted the phrase "emergency water landing," indicating the pilot's decisive efforts.

Due to its tiltrotor flight mechanism, the MV-22 Osprey has seen multiple deadly crashes in the last few years. Three people died in an Osprey crash in Australia in August that involved twenty-three U.S. marines. All five U.S. marines on board died in another San Diego tragedy in August 2022 while on a training assignment. In 2015, following a crash in Hawaii that left one person dead and twenty-one injured, the Defense Department defended the aircraft's use. Boeing and Bell Helicopters' MV-22 is a plane that can fly like a regular aircraft while having takeoff and landing characteristics similar to those of a helicopter.

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Credits and Sources:

NBCNews.com 

Arata Yamamoto and Patrick Smith