- Crew members were found in a large section of the plane’s fuselage on Monday by a team of Japanese and American divers
American and Japanese divers have discovered wreckage and remains of crew members from a U.S. Air Force Osprey aircraft that crashed off southwestern Japan last week, the Air Force announced Monday.
The $90 million CV-22 Osprey carrying eight American crew members crashed off Yakushima Island last Wednesday during a training mission. The body of one victim was recovered and identified earlier, but seven others remained missing.
Five crew members were found in a large section of the aircraft’s fuselage.
The Air Force Special Operations Command said the remains were being recovered and their identities had not yet been determined.
“The main priority is to get Airmen home and care for their family members.” “Supporting and protecting the privacy of the families and loved ones affected by this incident remains AFSOC’s top priority,” it said in a statement.
The U.S. military identified the only confirmed victim as Air Force Staff Sgt. Jacob Galliher, a married father of two from Pittsfield, Massachusetts, on Saturday.
Japanese Coast Guard members carry debris believed to be from the crashed US military aircraft Osprey
The crash of the US military CV-22 Osprey takes off from the Iwakuni base in Yamaguchi Prefecture in western Japan. This crash is the latest in a series of fatal accidents involving the $90 million aircraft
Japanese Coast Guard rescuers have found three people and debris after a US military Osprey plane crashed into the sea near Yakushima island
On Monday, Japanese Navy and U.S. military divers discovered what appeared to be the forward section of the Osprey and possibly five of the missing crew members, Japanese public television NHK and other media reported.
Japanese Navy officials declined to confirm the reports and said they could not release details without U.S. approval
The US-made Osprey is a hybrid aircraft that takes off and lands like a helicopter, but in flight can turn its propellers forward and fly much faster, like an airplane.
A total of six coast guard ships and two helicopters were used as part of a rescue operation.
The Osprey’s use in Japan was controversial and critics said it was prone to accidents. The US military and Japan say it is safe.
This is the second time in three months that an osprey has been involved in an accident. Three Marines were killed during an exercise in northern Australia. The cause of this crash has not been released.
In June 2022, five Marines died in a fiery crash in a remote part of California east of San Diego.
An accident investigation report last month found the tragedy was caused by a mechanical failure related to a clutch.
This image shows the remains of the US military aircraft Osprey
This is the second fatal Osprey aircraft crash in the past three months, after three Marines died aboard a plane in August
A Japanese ship can be seen taking the empty inflatable lifeboat out of the water
According to the report, there have been 16 similar clutch problems in flying marine ospreys since 2012.
In February 2023, the Marine Corps announced that a device believed to be the cause of the problem had been replaced.
The Osprey, a hybrid aircraft that takes off and lands like a helicopter, but can tilt its propellers forward during flight and fly much faster than an airplane. They are used by the US Marines, the US Navy and the Japanese Self-Defense Forces.
Since 2012, there have been six fatal marine osprey accidents, resulting in 16 deaths.
A majority of the 50,000 U.S. troops stationed in Japan under a bilateral security pact and 70 percent of U.S. military installations are based in Okinawa, which accounts for just 0.6 percent of Japan’s land area.
Japan has suspended all flights of its own fleet of 14 Ospreys.