>>19995248

US military aircraft crashes in sea off Japan, condition of crew unknown

TOKYO, Nov 29 (Reuters) - A U.S. military aircraft with eight people onboard crashed into the sea in western Japan on Wednesday with fishermen reporting three people had been found but that their condition was unknown.

The coast guard said it had sent patrol boats and aircraft to the area where the tilt-rotor V-22 Osprey crashed off the island of Yakushima.

Fishing boats in the area found three people in the surrounding waters, a representative of a local fisheries cooperative said.

The crashed occurred near the island's airport, where another Osprey successfully landed on Wednesday afternoon, a spokesperson for the prefectural government said.

U.S. forces in the region were still gathering information, a spokesperson said.

The crash happened just before 3 p.m. (0600 GMT) with witnesses saying the aircraft's left engine appeared to be on fire as it descended, media reported.

The aircraft disappeared from radar at 2.40 p.m. local time, Japan Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said.

The plane, which can fly both like a helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft, is operated by the U.S. Marines, U.S. Navy and the Japan Self Defense Forces.

The deployment of the Osprey in Japan has been controversial, with critics saying it is prone to accidents. The U.S. military and Japan say it is safe.

https://www.reuters.com/world/us-military-aircraft-crashes-into-ocean-near-japans-yakushima-island-jiji-2023-11-29/

Osprey plane crash Japan

Not much info on ASN it should be updated as more info comes in.

https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/348462

>>19995319

>>19995301

>>19995325

US Air Force V-22 Osprey aircraft crashed off the coast of the island of Yakushima, in the Kagoshima prefecture in southern Japan.

The 10th Regional Coast Guard was called to the scene at approximately 2:47 p.m. local time (5:47 a.m. GMT).

Three members of the crew are believed to have since been recovered but details on their state are currently unavailable.

Initial reports suggest that the crashed aircraft was a CV22 Osprey that had left the US military's Yokota Air Base in Tokyo.

According to the Japanese outlet NHK, the police received a 110 call stating that: "At around 2:37 p.m., an Osprey landed on the coast near Yakushima Airport with its left engine on fire."

Officials from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism told the network that the Osprey was headed for Kadena Air Base in the Okinawa prefecture.

Ministry of Defense sources claimed the Osprey was forced to change its itinerary and was heading to Yakushima Airport to attempt a landing.

A local man who runs a diving shop close to Yakushima Airport claimed to have spotted the aircraft shortly before it crashed with flames coming out its left-wing engine.

He said: "I was flying on a route that would have approached the runway from the east side of Yakushima Airport, but it turned to the left and went down.

"I saw black smoke rising up along with the ground rumbling, so I immediately called 911. I did."

A disaster response task force was activated immediately after the crash, with police and firefighters setting up an emergency headquarters at Yakushima Airport.

Reports of "wreckage" being spotted began to emerge at approximately 3:30 local time (6:30 a.m. GMT)

https://www.express.co.uk/news/us/1840203/us-military-osprey-crash-japan-latest