Japan’s authorities mentioned Thursday that it has quickly grounded its fleet of tilt-rotor V-22 Osprey plane following Wednesday’s crash of a U.S. Air Force CV-22B mannequin Osprey off the coast of Japan that has resulted in no less than one loss of life and 7 different crewmembers nonetheless lacking. 

Tokyo additionally appealed to the U.S. navy primarily based within the nation to droop Osprey flights within the area aside from these getting used within the search effort for the lacking hybrid plane that may take off and land like a helicopter however fly like an airplane.

“The occurrence of such an accident causes great anxiety to the people of the region,” Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara mentioned Thursday to the nation’s parliament. “We are requesting the U.S. side to conduct flights of Ospreys deployed to Japan after these flights are confirmed to be safe.”

The CV-22B Osprey that crashed Wednesday was assigned to the 353rd Special Operations Wing and primarily based at Yokota Air Base, about 25 miles west of Tokyo. The Air Force mentioned the reason for the crash stays beneath investigation. Military aviation consultants mentioned it may take as much as a yr to search out out what occurred, however the crash comes on the heels of a string of deadly accidents for the navy in recent times.

On Thursday, U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel mentioned he was praying for the crew’s protected return as the continued search and rescue mission continues.

“I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Japanese Coast Guard, the Japanese Self-Defense Forces, and the local community and fishermen who are assisting in the search,” he mentioned in a put up on social media. “The strength of an alliance is not judged when things are going well. It depends on how we support each other in times of adversity.”

The water on the crash website is believed to be no less than 100 toes deep. Search groups are utilizing sonar gear to assist find lacking crewmembers, officers mentioned. The physique of the Osprey crew member who was recovered has been handed over to U.S. navy officers, Japanese authorities mentioned.

The Osprey left the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station on Wednesday at Iwakuni round 2:15 p.m. native time. It was heading for the U.S. Air Force’s Kadena Air Base in Onikawa together with two different tilt-rotor plane, the native NHK information community mentioned, citing Japanese protection officers.

The Osprey has been affected by mechanical issues for years, with greater than 50 individuals being killed in dozens of crashes. Most not too long ago, a Marine Corps V-22 mannequin crashed in August throughout a coaching operation in Australia, killing three U.S. Marines.

The hybrid V-22 was developed by Boeing and Bell Helicopter. Osprey variants are flown by the Marine Corps, the Air Force, and the Navy, which not too long ago started utilizing them to assist resupply plane carriers.

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