THE crash of an advanced US Marine Corps MV-22B Osprey tilt-rotor off the coast of Okinawa this morning has seen renewed calls for the controversial aircraft to be grounded.
Japan’s Defence Minister Tomomi Inada has called on the United States to ground all its Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft after one of the US-operated military transports went down in waters of southwestern Okinawa island, injuring its crew.
Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe described the incident as “regrettable”.
The Pentagon confirmed in a press statement that a US Marine Corp Osprey with five crew members “landed in shallow water off the coastline”.
“A formal investigation into the mishap has been launched,” the release says. “There will be no further information on the cause of the mishap until the investigation is complete.”
A frame grab from Japanese media showing the broken-backed MV-22 Osprey in shallow waters off the coast of Okinawa.Source:Supplied
Footage from the crash scene appears to show the troop-carrying aircraft as having broken in half, with one of its folding wings askew in the water alongside.
All five crew were recovered. Two are reportedly injured.
It’s just the latest in a string of serious accidents experienced by the Marine Corps since October.
A fighter pilot was killed last week when his ageing F/A-18C crashed some 250km southeast of Iwakuni, Japan. Another F/A-18C crashed in California in October, while two F/A-18s collided in California in November.
Also in October, an experimental F-35B stealth fighter caught fire during a training flight but the pilot was able to successfully land the stricken aircraft.
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