September 6, 2023

Japanese Communist Party Dietmembers Miyamoto Toru (Lower House) and Yamazoe Taku (Upper House) on September 4 held a hearing with the Defense Ministry in regard to the resumption of flights by Ground Self-Defense Force Ospreys, and urged the ministry to keep the aircraft grounded due to safety concerns.

The Defense Ministry on August 14 resumed the GSDF Osprey flights which were temporarily suspended after the U.S. military on July 21 released a report stating that a fatal crash of a U.S. Marine Corps Osprey in California in June last year was caused by a hard clutch engagement (HCE) malfunction.

In the hearing, as a reason for the resumption of GSDF Osprey flights, the ministry explained that replacing components every 800 hours can reduce the incidence of HCE by 99% and that the GSDF conducts training on safety operations.

The two JCP lawmakers referred to a recent fatal crash of a U.S. Marine Corps Osprey on August 27 in Australia. They asked if the accident was caused by HCE. Ministry officials only replied that the U.S. military is investigating the accident.

The JCP lawmakers pointed out the possibility that the latest accident is attributed to HCE malfunction or other unspecified problems with the aircraft. Noting that a GSDF Osprey made an emergency landing at the Air SDF Shizuhama base in Shizuoka Prefecture on August 31, the JCP lawmakers said that the ministry should discontinue the use of GSDF Ospreys.

Past related article:
> Osprey MV22s are defective and should be grounded and removed [July 27, 2023]