Japan Press Weekly

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2020 July 1 - 7 [US FORCES]

US military parachute falls outside Yokota base in Tokyo

A U.S. military parachute fell outside the U.S. Yokota Air Base in suburban Tokyo during parachute landing drills (June 29-July 2) at the base, Akahata learned on July 2.

A resident who witnessed the parachute-drop incident told Akahata that at around 2 p.m. on the day, a U.S. military chopper, which appeared to be a UH-60L Black Hawk deployed at U.S. Camp Zama (Kanagawa Prefecture), left the ground at the Yokota Air Base and that seven U.S. soldiers performed parachute jumps from the aircraft. “One of the seven jumpers had trouble in opening the main parachute, jettisoned it, and used the spare parachute to make a landing. The jettisoned parachute fell outside the base,” said the resident.

A reply to an Akahata inquiry by the Yokota AB public affairs unit supported the resident’s story. The public affairs unit also admitted to the fact that some parachute parts were discovered off the base.

Similar parachute-drop accidents occurred in April 2018 and again in January 2019.

Past related articles:
> JCP Tokyo protests against accidents during parachute drills at US Yokota base [January, 10, 2019]
> US military parachute falls on junior high school grounds in Tokyo [April 11 and 12, 2018]