Divers have recovered the remains of the seventh of eight crew members of a US military Osprey aircraft that crashed off the coast of southern Japan during a training mission.
By means ofMARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press
December 10, 2023, 9:53 am
FILE – In this U.S. Navy image, Aviation Boatswain's Mate 2nd Class Nicholas Hawkins signals an MV-22 Osprey to land on the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea on May 17, 2019. When the U.S. military took the extraordinary step of grounding its fleet of V-22 Ospreys this week, it was not just responding to the plane's recent deadly crash off the coast of Japan. The plane has had a long list of problems in its short history. (Mass Communications Specialist 3rd Class Amber Smalley/US Navy via AP)
The Associated Press
TOKYO — Divers on Sunday recovered the remains of the seventh of eight crew members from a US military Osprey aircraft that crashed off the coast of southern Japan during a training mission.
The Air Force CV-22 Osprey crashed near Yakushima Island in southwestern Japan on November 29 while en route to Okinawa. The bodies of six crew members had now been recovered, including five from the sunken wreckage of the plane.
The U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command said in a statement that the body found by Air Force divers was one of two crew members still missing. The airman's identity had been determined, but the information was being withheld until next of kin could be notified, the command said.
“Joint efforts are currently underway to locate and recover the remains of our eighth airman,” the report said.
A week after the crash and repeated reminders from the Japanese government about safety concerns, the U.S. military grounded all its Osprey V-22 aircraft after a preliminary investigation revealed something had gone wrong with the aircraft, which did not was human error.
The US-made Osprey is a hybrid aircraft that takes off and lands like a helicopter, but can turn the propellers forward in flight and cruise much faster, just like an airplane.
The crash raised new questions about the safety of the Osprey, which has been involved in several fatal accidents during its relatively short lifespan. Japan grounded its fleet of fourteen Ospreys after the crash.
Japanese defense officials say Ospreys hold the key to the country's military build-up, especially in southwestern Japan, in the face of a growing threat from China. But the crash has reignited concerns and public protests in areas where additional Osprey deployments are planned.
Japanese residents and media have criticized the Japanese government for not pushing hard enough to get Ospreys on the ground sooner or access information about the crash.
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The story has been corrected to say that the body recovered Sunday was found by Air Force divers and not Navy divers, reflecting a correction by U.S. authorities.