U.S. Osprey Tilt-Rotor Aircraft With 8 Aboard Crashes Into Sea off Japan

U.S. Osprey Tilt-Rotor Aircraft With 8 Aboard Crashes Into Sea off Japan

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V-22 crash
File photo of a USMC MV-22 (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Peter Burghart)

The V-22 Osprey aircraft crashed off the coast of Yakushima island.

A U.S. V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft, with 8 people on board, has crashed off the coast of Yakushima island in Kagoshima Prefecture, the Japan Coast Guard said on Nov. 29, 2023. According to the 10th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters, the emergency call about the incident was received around 2.45PM LT.

A patrol boat and aircraft were dispatched to carry out a search and rescue operation. At 21.20 CET, one crew member is reported as killed in the incident whereas  the status of the other 7 is unknown although debris from an aircraft has been found, the Japan Times reported.

According to the few details emerged so far, the Osprey may have crashed some 2 to 4 kilometers away from an airport in Yakushima.

This is just the latest of a series of incidents and mishaps involving the V-22 (MV-22 and CV-22 variants, respectively operated by the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Air Force) in the U.S. and abroad. The most recent one before then one in Japan occurred in Australia, on Aug. 27, 2023, when a USMC MV-22B crash landed during a joint exercise. The aircraft was carrying 23 U.S. Marines, three of those were killed.

We will report as new details about the fate of the crew is disclosed.

About David Cenciotti
David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.

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