Kyoto News/Getty Images/File
An Osprey takes off from U.S. Army Port Facilities in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan on March 20, 2023.
Tokyo
CNN
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At least one person was killed Wednesday when a US military Osprey aircraft crashed off the coast of Japan’s Yakushima island in Japan’s southern Kagoshima prefecture, a spokesman for the Japan Coast Guard said.
The spokesman added that no further information was available about the seven other people on board and the cause of the crash.
The Coast Guard received information about the accident around 2:47 p.m. local time (12:47 a.m. ET), and the 10th Coast Guard Region headquarters dispatched a patrol boat and aircraft to the crash site, a spokesman said.
The Yakushima airport management office in Kagoshima Prefecture received a call Wednesday afternoon from the U.S. military for an emergency landing at Kagoshima Airport, a Kagoshima prefectural official told CNN.
A Kagoshima prefectural official did not say whether the request came from the US Navy or Air Force.
This is the latest Accident involving Osprey military aircraftMany accidents have been reported over the years.
In August this year, an Osprey aircraft crashed during a military exercise, killing three US Marines and injuring several others. Australia.
In 2022, Five US Marines Died when their MV-22B Osprey crashed during a training mission near Glamis, California. That same year four US service members were killed when their Osprey crashed during a NATO exercise in Norway.
The Osprey is a highly maneuverable aircraft that can take off vertically like a helicopter, but also perform the high-speed cruise of a conventional turboprop aircraft with wings.
In general, the Osprey is safe to fly, but the plane has had a history of mechanical and operational problems since its inception in the 1980s, according to CNN military analyst and retired U.S. Air Force Col. Cedric Leighton.
