Photo/Illutration A U.S. military aircraft and a Japanese Self-Defense Forces vessel operate on Dec. 5 in waters off Yakushima island in Kagoshima Prefecture, where a U.S. Osprey aircraft crashed the previous week. (Kengo Hiyoshi)

WASHINGTON--The U.S. Air Force determined that all eight airmen aboard an Osprey aircraft that crashed in Kagoshima Prefecture on Nov. 29 have died, making it the deadliest accident of the tilt-rotor aircraft since it became operational in 2007.

The U.S. military on Dec. 5 transitioned its weeklong “search and rescue” operations to “search and recovery” operations in waters off Yakushima island where the aircraft went down.

“On behalf of all of the joint U.S. teammates actively involved in the search, we want to extend our sincere gratitude to the government of Japan’s Self-Defense Forces, Coast Guard, law enforcement, mariners, and local Yakushima civilian volunteers for their tireless assistance in the search and rescue operations for our airmen,” Rear Adm. Jeromy Williams, commander of the Special Operations Command Pacific, said.

One crew member was found dead shortly after the accident on Nov. 29.

The remains of five were found on Dec. 4, and the two others are still missing.

The eight servicemen were assigned to either the Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo or the Kadena Air Base in Okinawa Prefecture.

This is the first fatal Osprey accident in Japan and the deadliest to date, exceeding the one that killed five U.S. service members aboard an MV-22 Osprey during a training mission in California in June 2022, according to Japan’s Defense Ministry.

In 2010, a CV-22 Osprey, the same type as the one that went down in Kagoshima Prefecture, crashed during an operational mission in Afghanistan, killing four crew members aboard.

The Air Force identified those killed in the latest crash as: Maj. Jeffrey T. Hoernemann, 32, a CV-22 instructor pilot and officer in charge of training; Maj. Eric V. Spendlove, 36, a residency trained flight surgeon and medical operations flight commander; Maj. Luke A. Unrath, 34, a CV-22 pilot and flight commander; Capt. Terrell K. Brayman, 32, a CV-22 pilot and flight commander; Tech. Sgt. Zachary E. Lavoy, 33, a medical operations flight chief; Staff Sgt. Jake M. Turnage, 25, a flight engineer; Senior Airman Brian K. Johnson, 32, a flight engineer; and Staff Sgt. Jake Galliher, 24, a direct support operator.

Related News