Japan Press Weekly

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2024 July 31 - August 6 [US FORCES]

USFJ resumed Osprey flights without identifying cause of fatal crash

The U.S. Air Force on August 1 attributed the fatal crash of a CV-22 Osprey, a special operations aircraft deployed to the U.S. Yokota Air Base (Tokyo), last November to a proprotor gearbox (PRGB) failure and a human error in judgment.

The U.S. military, in a report on the crash which killed eight airmen, claims that the PRGB, which transmits power to the left propeller, was damaged and therefore no power was transmitted. It adds that the pilot continued to fly despite continuous warning lights on display.

The report presented only the “factors” involved in the accident and did not identify the root cause of it.

Okutomi Kiichi who heads a local civic organization working for the removal of the U.S. Yokota AB said, “The underlying cause of the gear damage hasn’t been determined. It’s outrageous to fly Osprey aircraft with the possibility of another crash at any moment.”

Okutomi said, “Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi Yoshimasa says, ‘A recurrence of similar accidents in the future can be prevented,’ even though the report does not include any preventive measures to be taken. This is really a joke. I cannot believe that the Japanese government is taking an “everything-OK” attitude regarding the U.S. forces in Japan.”

Past related article:
> US Osprey crashes into waters off Kagoshima, first fatal accident in Japan [November 30 & December 1, 2023]