Photo/Illutration A UH-60JA helicopter, the same type as the one that went missing off Miyakojima island in Okinawa Prefecture on April 6 (Captured from the Ground Self-Defense Force website)

The Ground Self-Defense Force helicopter that went missing on April 6 near Miyakojima island in Okinawa Prefecture was flying at the lowest legal altitude two minutes before the crash, government sources said.

Government officials made the determination by analyzing footage caught by a fixed-point camera placed near the crash site.

The Civil Aeronautics Law stipulates the lowest altitude that helicopters are allowed to fly at to ensure a safe operation.

Sources said that the SDF crew members and SDF officers aboard wouldn't have had much time to react in an emergency before the copter crashed because it was flying so low. 

According to government sources, the Defense Ministry obtained footage of the airspace in which the helicopter was flying two to three minutes before going missing captured by a fixed-point camera.

The camera is situated on Ikemajima island, north of Miyakojima island. It captures images of the airspace every several seconds, so the footage is a frame-by-frame video when played.

The helicopter is shown in a 20-second clip caught by the camera.

Considering the location of the camera, the flight path of the copter and its size in the footage, government officials believe that it was flying at a height of around 150 meters.

The Civil Aeronautics Law stipulates that helicopters must fly at a height of 150 meters or above, except when taking off or landing.

So, it is believed that the copter was flying at the lowest altitude allowed under the law, sources say.

Eight senior SDF officers were aboard the aircraft. They were third lieutenants or higher ranks and included three newly appointed senior officers of the GSDF’s 8th Division headquarters. 

They were conducting aerial reconnaissance to check the terrain in areas where their officers could be dispatched during emergencies.

It is believed that the helicopter was flying at the low altitude to allow those aboard to visually inspect the terrain, the sources say.

Meanwhile, the camera footage didn’t show any signs of problems with the helicopter, according to sources.

Crew members aboard exchanged messages with an airport control tower as normal at 3:54 p.m. on April 6, around the same time as when the camera captured the footage.

However, the chopper disappeared from radar screens two minutes later, at 3:56 p.m.

Ministry officials believe that the helicopter suddenly lost thrust and plummeted into the sea.

The ministry and the Japan Coast Guard continued their search on April 11 with six airplanes of the Maritime Self-Defense Force and the Air Self-Defense Force, three MSDF warships, two JCG surveillance ships and around 290 SDF ground officers.

However, they have yet to find a possible clue as to why the chopper crashed.

Maritime Self-Defense Force Chief of Staff Ryo Sakai said at a news conference on April 11 that the seabed in the area of the crash site is uneven as it is covered with coral reefs, making it difficult to locate the helicopter. 

He also said that it’s difficult to operate an unmanned underwater probe as the tidal current is swift at the site and that the copter could have been swept away.

Sakai said such conditions are “making the search at the site complicated.”

(This article was written by Kaigo Narisawa and Kazuyuki Ito.)

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