Divers have recovered the stays of the seventh of the eight crew members from a U.S. army Osprey plane that crashed off southern Japan throughout a coaching mission
ByMARI YAMAGUCHI Related Press
December 10, 2023, 9:53 AM
FILE -On this picture offered by the U.S. Navy, Aviation Boatswain’s Mate 2nd Class Nicholas Hawkins, alerts an MV-22 Osprey to land on the flight deck of the usAbraham Lincoln within the Arabian Sea on Could 17, 2019. When the U.S. army took the extraordinary step of grounding its fleet of V-22 Ospreys this week, it wasn’t reacting simply to the latest lethal crash of the plane off the coast of Japan. The plane has had a protracted record of issues in its brief historical past. (Mass Communication Specialist third Class Amber Smalley/U.S. Navy through AP)
The Related Press
TOKYO — Divers on Sunday recovered the stays of the seventh of the eight crew members from a U.S. army Osprey plane that crashed off southern Japan throughout a coaching mission.
The Air Pressure CV-22 Osprey went down Nov. 29 simply off Yakushima Island in southwestern Japan whereas on its solution to Okinawa. The our bodies of six of the crew had since been recovered, together with 5 from the sunken wreckage of the plane.
The U.S. Air Pressure Particular Operations Command stated in a press release that the physique discovered by Air Pressure divers was one of many two crew members nonetheless lacking. The id of the airman had been decided however the info was being withheld till subsequent of kin could possibly be notified, the command stated.
“Presently there’s a mixed effort in finding and recovering the stays of our eighth airman,” it stated.
Every week after the crash and repeated reminders from the Japanese authorities about security considerations, the U.S. army grounded all its Osprey V-22 plane after a preliminary investigation indicated one thing went flawed with the craft that was not a human error.
The U.S.-made Osprey is a hybrid plane that takes off and lands like a helicopter however can rotate its propellers ahead and cruise a lot quicker, like an airplane, throughout flight.
The crash raised new questions in regards to the security of the Osprey, which has been concerned in a number of deadly accidents over its comparatively brief time in service. Japan grounded its fleet of 14 Ospreys after the crash.
Japanese protection officers say Ospreys are key to the nation’s army buildup particularly in southwestern Japan, within the face of a rising menace from China. However the crash has rekindled worries and public protests in areas the place extra Osprey deployment is deliberate.
Japanese residents and media have criticized Japan’s authorities for not pushing onerous sufficient to get Ospreys grounded sooner or acquire entry to details about the crash.
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The story has been corrected to say the physique recovered Sunday was discovered by divers from the Air Pressure, not the Navy, reflecting a correction by U.S. authorities.