THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
March 14, 2024 at 14:16 JST
The rumble of Osprey transport aircraft was heard again over Japan on March 14, as the U.S. military resumed flights after lifting a suspension imposed following a fatal crash in Kagoshima Prefecture in November.
The departure of an Osprey from U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, was confirmed around 8:50 a.m. that morning.
The Japanese and U.S. governments said the tilt-rotor aircraft has no flaws with its design and structure following an investigation, a conclusion that failed to alleviate the concerns of local officials.
The Defense Ministry had informed local governments on March 13 of the U.S. plans to resume Osprey flights.
A CV-22 Osprey of the U.S. Air Force crashed off Yakushima island in Kagoshima Prefecture on Nov. 29, killing all eight crew members aboard.
The U.S. military investigated the accident and retrieved wreckage from the sea. A failure was found in a specific component, but it was determined that the defect is not common to other Ospreys.
Defense Ministry officials said the U.S. military and the Ground Self-Defense Force will fly their Ospreys only around bases for the time being and plan to gradually regain their mission capabilities because the flight suspension lasted for about three months.
The ministry said it has provided explanations to 11 prefectural governments that host U.S. and GSDF bases and 28 municipal governments concerned.
But some local government leaders questioned the resumption of flights.
“The explanation was insufficient concerning the specific cause of the accident,” Ginowan Mayor Masanori Matsugawa said. “It failed to dispel our concerns.”
“We will continue to demand that the deployment of the Osprey, which is considered to be extremely dangerous and defective, be withdrawn immediately,” Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki said, referring to serious accidents that have occurred in the prefecture.
According to the Defense Ministry, U.S. Forces Japan stationed 32 Ospreys at the Futenma base, the Kadena Air Base, also in Okinawa Prefecture, and elsewhere in Japan as of March 13, and the GSDF deployed 14 Ospreys at Camp Kisarazu in Chiba Prefecture.
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An Osprey transport aircraft leaves U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, on March 14. (Jun Ueda)
