US Osprey Aircraft Crashes Off Japan Coast, Killing At Least One
A US military MV-22B Osprey with six souls on board crashed into the sea in western Japan on Wednesday while on a training mission, killing at least one person, according to Reuters.
The tiltrotor aircraft that can operate as a helicopter or a turboprop aircraft crashed some 2 miles from Yakushima island. This area is part of Japan's Kagoshima prefecture and about 650 miles southwest of Tokyo.
Local fisherman rescued three people in the surrounding waters, a representative of a regional fisheries cooperative said.
🇺🇲🇯🇵 | At least one person was killed after a US MV-22 Osprey military aircraft crashed off the coast of Japan’s Yakushima Island in southern Kagoshima prefecture on Wednesday, Japan Coast Guard spokesman said.
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Japan Coast Guard units continued the search in the dark off… pic.twitter.com/GNHxtFBm6S
It was reported another Osprey landed at the island's airport on Wednesday afternoon around the time of the crash.
Despite excellent VFR conditions (known as clear skies and light wind), witnesses told local media the troubled Osprey had an engine malfunction.
Reuters noted Japan, which also operates a fleet of Osprey aircraft, said it has no plans to ground the tiltrotor aircraft while the US military investigates the incident.
The accident-prone aircraft has been involved in five fatal crashes since 2012, killing at least 19 people.
