Photo/Illutration A SH60K patrol helicopter (Captured from website of Defense Ministry)

Two patrol helicopters of the Maritime Self-Defense Force crashed during a nighttime training exercise over the Pacific Ocean, leaving at least one crew member dead and seven missing.

Defense Minister Minoru Kihara said April 21 that the aircraft, SH60K patrol helicopters each carrying a crew of four, very likely collided during the anti-submarine warfare drill near the Izu Island chain south of Tokyo.

Flight training with SH60K helicopters was suspended, pending the outcome of an investigation into the cause of the crash.

The Defense Ministry said the aircraft belonged to the Omura Air Base in Nagasaki Prefecture and the Komatsushima Air Base in Tokushima Prefecture. 

Communication with one of the helicopters was lost at 10:38 p.m. on April 20, and an emergency signal was received one minute later.

Communication with the other one was lost at 11:04 p.m.

The aircraft were operating east of Torishima island at the time.

Eight MSDF vessels and five aircraft subsequently searched the area, and one body was recovered, as well as the two flight recorders.

Aircraft debris was also found.

Kihara said the incident did not appear to involve another country.

“First and foremost, we will do our utmost to save lives,” he said.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said it had no information on weather conditions at the time of the incident, but that no warnings or advisories were in effect for the southern part of the Izu Islands.

Torishima is a small uninhabited island more than 500 kilometers south of Tokyo.

SDF helicopters have been involved in a spate of accidents in recent years, mostly because of engine trouble or human error.

In April last year, a Ground SDF UH60JA helicopter  crashed off Miyakojima island in Okinawa Prefecture, killing 10 people on board, including the commander of the 8th Division.

The Defense Ministry concluded last month that one of the two engines gradually lost power, followed by loss power of the other engine, making it impossible to maintain altitude.

An SH60J Maritime SDF helicopter crashed during a night training exercise over the Sea of Japan off Aomori Prefecture in August 2017, killing two people and leaving one missing.

According to the Defense Ministry, human error was responsible for the crash as nothing was found to be wrong during an investigation of the aircraft wreckage.

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