Skip to main content

US Marine Corps Osprey crashes off Japan, injuring five


A US military aircraft with five service members on-board has crashed off Japan’s Okinawa island, days after a Marine Corps F/A-18 pilot died in another crash in the Japanese territorial waters.
The MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft was flying over Okinawa’s east coast late Tuesday, when it crashed in shallow waters near the shore, according to the US Marine Corps.
All of the crew survived the crash, Japanese military said, noting that three of the airmen had life-threatening injuries and were being treated at a US Navy hospital at the Kadena Air Base.
The Marines suspended flights of all Osprey military aircraft in Japan after the crash.
Last Wednesday, a Marine Corps F/A-18C Hornet fighter jet went down when it was flying about 120 miles southeast of the city of Iwakuni, which is located in Yamaguchi Prefecture and hosts a Marine Corps air station.
The Hornet’s 32-year-old pilot was able to eject the aircraft before impact but did not survive the incident. His body was recovered by Japanese search and rescue ships a day later.
The Osprey’s crash just off Nago City prompted protests across Okinawa, where a heavy presence of American troops has long been a source of tension due to the high rate of crimes committed by them.
After the rape of a Japanese schoolgirl by three US troops in 1996, Washington and Tokyo agreed to relocate some US servicemen outside Okinawa and move others to less populated parts of the island.
Protesters, however, want the nearly 50,000 US military personnel and their bases to leave the island altogether.
Okinawans have also held protests against the Osprey’s deployment on the island because of safety concerns.
The aircraft was introduced in June 2007, and has had seven hull-loss accidents with a total of 36 fatalities since its first flight in 1989.
Last May, an Osprey was nearly destroyed after it was forced to crash land in Hawaii.
The Bell Boeing product combines helicopter and airplane capabilities which allow it to transport up to 32 soldiers and reach top speeds of over 500 km/h.
The $72 million military aircraft is also capable of vertical takeoff and landing and has taken part in military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Kuwait.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

General Qasem Soleymani's letter to the Secretary of Defense of the United States of America

In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate Obama has sent a rude and threatening Letter to Imam Khamenei (d.z) , Iran's Supreme Leader. Few days later Imam Khamenei (d.z) proclaimed that he replied to Obama's threatening letter. People were eager to know about the answer but no one was aware of the letter's content. Cmdr. Qasem Soleimani sent a letter to the Secretary of Defense of the United States of America, a letter that may help us to find out about the content of the Supreme Leader's letter. The so-called letter made Americans furiously angry so that the United State Congress issued Cmdr's assassination. To find out how important was this action, it would be interesting to describe the procedure through which the letter was received by The Secretary of Defense United States Department Of War includes seven protective filters four of which are specifically designed to monitor data sent to secretary of defense. . Sending a letter ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Iran, Turkey, Qatar mull land route amid Saudi crisis

Turkey seeks to establish a land route via Iran for trade with Qatar which has relied on both countries for sourcing food since a diplomatic crisis broke out with Saudi Arabia. Turkish Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci on Saturday was in Tehran where he was expected to discuss using Iran’s land route to facilitate trade with Qatar, Anadolu quoted him as saying. "We're thinking about alternatives for land trade routes with Qatar but the easiest way is passing through Iran," Zeybekci said, according to the news agency.  He traveled to Tehran to attend the swearing-in of President Hassan Rouhani along with delegates from around the world. It was not immediately clear who was representing Qatar in the ceremony.  Turkey has used a land, air and sea blockade imposed on Qatar by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt to flood the tiny peninsula in the Persian Gulf with its goods but Zeybekci said using cargo planes to carry products was no...
Post a Comment
Read more

Yemeni tribes joind hands to counter Saudi aggression

Yemeni tribes in different provinces have joined forces to counter the deadly Saudi aggression against their country, vowing revenge for the blood of the innocent. In the northwestern province of Hajjah, the tribes of the Sharafein district expressed their readiness to deploy forces to the battleground in response to a call issued by the tribes of Khulan and Sanhan, Yemen’s al-Masirah television reported on Saturday. Bani Sara tribe in al-Shaqadreh also said that it was prepared to team up with Khulan al-Tayal tribe to score a victory against the Riyadh regime and take revenge for the recent Saudi carnage in the capital, Sana’a, which was denounced by rights groups as a war crime. Sana’a saw one of the deadliest Saudi attacks on October 8, when the regime’s warplanes bombarded a funeral hall packed with mourners in the capital city, killing more than 140 people and injuring at least 525 others. The tribe of Sanhan in Sana’a put 300 troops equipped with arms on ale...
Post a Comment
Read more