Tokyo [Japan], November 30: A US military plane has crashed into waters off the coast of Japan's Yakushima Island in southern Kagoshima prefecture on Wednesday, media reports said.
Reports quoted the Japan Coast Guard as saying that it received information about the crash at around 2.47pm local time. The 10th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters sent patrol boats and helicopters to the site. One person has been found dead at the crash site, according to the Coast Guard spokesperson.
No details about the condition of others who were on board the ill-fated aircraft are known. The CV-22 Osprey's left engine was on fire, Japanese broadcaster NHK reported. It was trying to land at Yakushima Airport when the accident occurred.
The aircraft, which left US Marine Corps' Air Station Iwakuni in Yamaguchi Prefecture, was reportedly bound for the US Kadena Air Base in Okinawa Prefecture. The CV-22 Osprey is a multi-mission, tiltrotor military aircraft with both vertical takeoff and landing and short takeoff and landing capabilities. It is designed to combine the functionality of a conventional helicopter with the long-range, high-speed cruise performance of a turboprop aircraft.
Source: Qatar Tribune