Defence After Yakushima crash: US grounds Osprey fleet

thomas · 12 Dec 2023

Last week, eight US servicemen, some of whom were stationed in Yokota, were killed when their V-22 Osprey crashed into the sea off Yakushima. Japan, particularly sensitive to locals' worries about military operations, slammed the US for continuing to fly Ospreys despite their request to ground the aircraft. Finally, last Wednesday, the United States was grounding all Ospreys.

Before any more flights were conducted, Japan's foreign minister, Yoko Kamikawa, stated that she had personally requested U.S. ambassador to Japan, Rahm Emanuel, to vouch for the safety of Osprey flights on Thursday. The American embassy in Japan declined to react right away. The use of hybrid aircraft in Japan has generated controversy; opponents of US military presence in the southwest islands claim it increases the risk of accidents.

"Preliminary investigation information indicates a potential materiel failure caused the mishap, but the underlying cause of the failure is unknown at this time," US Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) said in a statement.

Japan is 'concerned' as U.S. flies Ospreys despite grounding request

Tokyo says it asked officially after fatal accident; Pentagon says it is unaware

asia.nikkei.com

US military grounds fleet of Osprey aircraft after fatal Japan crash

Eight American service members were killed last week when tilt-rotor aircraft crashed during training mission

www.theguardian.com

Immediately after the crash, Japan, the only other country to operate them, grounded its 14 Ospreys and asked the U.S. to suspend flights of V-22s operating in the country. The U.S. initially halted flights from the doomed aircraft's unit but said other Ospreys would continue to fly after safety checks.

U.S. military grounds all Osprey aircraft after Japan crash

Preliminary investigation points to 'materiel failure,' U.S. Air Force says

asia.nikkei.com

mdchachi · 13 Dec 2023

You have to admit, it's a cool looking aircraft.

thomas · 13 Dec 2023

The concept is brilliant but there seem to be several technical issues that need to be ironed out.

Ospreys had safety issues long before they were grounded. A look at the aircraft's history

When the U.S. military took the extraordinary step of grounding its fleet of V-22 Ospreys this week, it wasn't reacting just to the recent deadly crash of the aircraft off the coast of Japan.

apnews.com

Defence After Yakushima crash: US grounds Osprey fleet

thomas

Unswerving cyclist

Japan is 'concerned' as U.S. flies Ospreys despite grounding request

US military grounds fleet of Osprey aircraft after fatal Japan crash

U.S. military grounds all Osprey aircraft after Japan crash

mdchachi

Moderator

thomas

Unswerving cyclist

Ospreys had safety issues long before they were grounded. A look at the aircraft's history

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