Remains of crew members and wreckage are found five days after US Air Force Osprey crashed into the sea off Japan during training mission
- Crew members were found Monday in a large part of the plane's fuselage by a team of Japanese and American divers
American and Japanese divers have discovered wreckage and remains of crew members from a U.S. Air Force Osprey plane that crashed off the coast of southwest Japan last week, the Air Force announced Monday.
The $90 million CV-22 Osprey with eight American crew members on board crashed off the coast of Yakushima island last Wednesday during a training mission. The body of one victim was previously recovered and identified, while seven others remained missing.
Five crew members were found in a large part of the aircraft's fuselage.
The Air Force Special Operations Command said the remains were recovered and their identities have yet to be determined.
“The main priority is getting the pilots home and taking care of their family members. Support for and the privacy of the families and loved ones affected by this incident remains AFSOC's top priority,” the report said.
The U.S. military identified the only confirmed casualty as Air Force Staff Sgt. Jacob Galliher of Pittsfield, Mass., on Saturday.
Members of the Japanese Coast Guard carry debris believed to be from the crashed US military Osprey aircraft
The US military CV-22 Osprey takes off from the Iwakuni base, Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan. This crash is the latest in a series of fatal accidents involving the $90 million plane
Japan Coast Guard rescuers have found three people and debris after a US military Osprey plane crashed into the ocean near Yakushima island
On Monday, Japanese Navy and U.S. Army divers spotted what appeared to be the forward part of the Osprey, along with possibly five of the missing crew members, Japanese public television NHK and other media reported.
Japanese naval officials declined to confirm the reports, saying they could not release details without U.S. permission
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.
A total of six coast guard ships and two helicopters were deployed as part of a rescue operation.
The use of the Osprey in Japan is controversial, with critics saying it can cause accidents. The US military and Japan say it is safe.
It is the second time in three months that an Osprey has been involved in an accident. Three Marines were killed during an exercise in Northern Australia. The cause of that crash has not been made public.
In June 2022, five Marines were killed in a fiery crash in a remote part of California east of San Diego.
A crash investigation report last month found that the tragedy was caused by a mechanical failure related to a clutch.
There have been 16 similar in-flight docking problems on Marine Ospreys since 2012, the report found.
In February 2023, the Marine Corps announced that a device believed to be the cause of the problem had been replaced.
The Osprey, a hybrid aircraft that takes off and lands like a helicopter, but can tilt its propellers forward in flight and fly much faster like an airplane. They are used by the US Marines, the US Navy and the Japanese Self-Defense Forces.
Since 2012, there have been six fatal accidents involving Marine Ospreys, killing 16 people.
A majority of the 50,000 U.S. troops stationed in Japan under a bilateral security treaty and 70 percent of U.S. military facilities are based in Okinawa, which covers just 0.6 percent of Japan's territory.
Japan has suspended all flights of its own fleet of fourteen Ospreys.