Japan has recovered what appears to be the remains of a crashed Osprey.
Japan has asked the U.S. military to ground its Osprey hybrid aircraft as search and rescue operations continue following Wednesday’s deadly crash.
Japan’s NHK broadcaster cited the Defense Ministry as saying the suspension should continue until the aircraft’s safety is confirmed.
One crew member was confirmed dead in the crash off the coast of Yakushima. The search for the remaining six people continues.
Ospreys, first introduced in 2007, have a history of fatal accidents.
Japan has temporarily suspended its own Ospreys, which function as helicopters and turboprop aircraft.
The plane that crashed on Wednesday is believed to have been heading from Iwakuni Air Base in western Yamaguchi Prefecture to Kadena Air Base in the southernmost tip of Okinawa.
Japan’s Defense Ministry said the plane disappeared from radar at 14:40 local time (5:40 p.m. Japan time) on Wednesday.
Initial reports said there were eight people on board the plane, but that number was later revised down to seven by the Japan Coast Guard.
image source, Getty Images
Japanese media reported that the CV-22 Osprey, seen in this archive photo, was about to land at Yakushima Airport when it crashed.
They recovered what appeared to be debris near the coast of Japan’s southern island.
The U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command said in a statement that an Osprey at Yokota Air Base experienced an “aircraft accident” during a routine training mission, adding that the cause of the accident was unknown.
Initial reports said there were eight people on board the plane, but that number was later revised to seven by the Coast Guard.
A photo of what appears to be plane wreckage off the coast of Yakushima has been posted.
Yakushima, Kagoshima Prefecture, is located in the south of Kyushu Island, Japan.
More than 50,000 US troops are stationed across Japan.
In August of this year, an Osprey crashed in northern Australia, killing three U.S. Marines. In a similar incident in 2017, three Marines were killed when an Osprey clipped the back of a transport ship and crashed while attempting to make an emergency landing off Australia’s northern coast.
