Photo/Illutration A CV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

A U.S. military Osprey tilt-rotor transport aircraft reportedly crashed in waters off Yakushima island in Kagoshima Prefecture on Nov. 29.

Defense Ministry officials said an Osprey based at the U.S. Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo and carrying American military personnel disappeared from the radar screen while flying off the coast of Yakushima island.

A helicopter reached the site at around 4 p.m. and spotted an aircraft piece and a lifeboat about 1 kilometer east of the island, according to a Japan Coast Guard source.

The source also said a local fisherman had located a crew member who was later confirmed dead.

The Yakushima town government received a phone call at around 2:50 p.m. about an aircraft accident off the coast.

Officials at Yakushima Airport also said an aircraft crashed in waters about 2 to 4 kilometers from the airport.

A 50-year-old man who lives near the airport said he looked out his window at 2:40 p.m. after hearing a strange sound.

“The engine noise was different from ordinary aircraft, and when I thought about what it could be, I realized it was an Osprey,” he said.

The man said he saw flames emerging from the left engine of the aircraft, which made a turn and then dropped from the sky. When he saw black smoke, he called the emergency police number.

Another Osprey landed safely at Yakushima Airport, and a Maritime Self-Defense Force plane was seen circling the area three times.

Officials with the 10th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters based in Kagoshima Prefecture received an emergency call at around 2:47 p.m. that an Osprey had gone down off Yakushima island.

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