November 16, 2024

A U.S. military helicopter made an emergency landing near Cape Hedo in Okinawa’s Kunigami Village on November 14. This came to light in a Japanese government announcement later in the day.

According to the government announcement, the UH-1Y Venom helicopter deployed to the U.S. Marine Corps Futenma Air Station in the prefecture carried out a precautionary landing in an open field in the vicinity of Cape Hedo as a warning light came on during the flight. None of the six crewmembers on board were injured, and the aircraft suffered no damage.

Okinawa Governor Tamaki Denny on the following day at a regular press conference said that the accident caused concern among Okinawans, and expressed his intent to request the U.S. military to take measures to prevent a recurrence.

Noting that U.S. Marine aircraft made emergency landings at civil airports in the prefecture in August and September, the governor said that local residents have become increasingly anxious about the frequent occurrence of accidents and are expressing ever-increasing amount of discontent with the U.S. forces in Okinawa.