On Wednesday, a US military aircraft carrying eight personnel crashed into the water off the coast of western Japan. Fishermen said that three survivors were located. However, it was unclear how they were doing.
The tiltrotor V-22 Osprey fell off the island of Yakushima, and the Coast Guard reported that it had dispatched patrol boats and planes to the scene.
The incident occurred at approximately 2:47 p.m. local time, with local residents noting that fire was billowing from the aircraft’s left engine as it plunged into the sea.
According to a local fisheries cooperative spokesperson, fishing boats in the region spotted three individuals in the nearby waters.
According to a prefectural government official, the incident happened close to the island’s airport, where another Osprey made a successful landing on Wednesday afternoon.
According to a spokesman, American forces in the area were still gathering intelligence.
The aircraft’s left engine seemed to be on fire as it descended, according to witnesses, and the incident occurred just before 3 p.m. (0600 GMT), according to media reports.
The aircraft vanished from radar at 2:40 p.m. local time, according to Hirokazu Matsuno, chief cabinet secretary of Japan.
The U.S. Marines, U.S. Navy, and Japan Self Defence Forces operate the aircraft, which has the capability to maneuver similarly to a fixed-wing aircraft and a helicopter.
The Osprey’s deployment in Japan has generated controversy; some claim it is accident-prone. Both Japan and the US military declare it safe.
Three U.S. Marines were killed when an American Osprey crashed in August while carrying troops during a regular military drill off the coast of northern Australia.
In December 2016, another crashed-landed in the seas near the southern island of Okinawa in Japan, causing the aircraft to be temporarily grounded by the US military.
Three US marines were among the twenty-three people on board when another Osprey crashed in northern Australia in August while conducting a military drill for soldiers stationed there.
When an Osprey attempted to land at sea off the northern coast of Australia in 2017, it clipped the back of a transport ship, killing three marines in the process.
Five US Marines lost their lives in 2022 when their MV-22B Osprey aircraft crashed when they were on a training mission close to Glamis, California. During NATO training operations in Norway that same year, an Osprey aircraft carrying four US servicemen went down and killed them.
The Osprey is a very adaptable aircraft that can cruise at high speed like a typical turboprop plane with wings and take off vertically like a helicopter.
According to CNN military commentator and former US Air Force Col. Cedric Leighton, Ospreys are generally safe to fly, but since the aircraft’s introduction in the 1980s, there has been a history of mechanical and operational problems.
Multi-engine, dual-piloted, self-deployable, medium-lift, vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) tiltrotor aircraft, the V-22 Osprey is intended for use in Special Operations, combat, combat support, and combat operations across the globe.
The V-22 Osprey, which costs approximately $84 million, is the first tiltrotor aircraft built in production worldwide. The Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey can take off vertically like a helicopter and transition into airplane mode to reach speeds of up to 300 mph, similar to a conventional turboprop.
Do the hitherto unachievable. Altitude, endurance, and fixed-wing speed range all mixed with vertical lift. More than 600,000 hours of flight. A breakthrough edge in the most demanding of circumstances throughout the whole spectrum of military operations.
The V-22 Osprey has been a game changer for the U.S. Marine Corps, Air Force, and Navy in combat and humanitarian missions for more than 30 years. With more than 400 aircraft and 600,000 flight hours under its belt, the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey fleet continues to demonstrate why it’s one of the most adaptable and dependable aircraft for both national security and our clients worldwide.