The Japanese coast guard said it had dispatched patrol ships and aircraft to the area where the tilt-rotor V-22 Osprey crashed off the island of Yakushima.
An American Osprey aircraft. Photo: iStock
A representative of a local fishing cooperative said fishing boats in the area found three people in the surrounding waters.
The crash occurred near the island’s airport, where another Osprey landed successfully on Wednesday afternoon, a provincial government spokesman said. A spokesman said US forces in the area were still gathering information.
Local media reported the crash happened just before 3pm local time on Wednesday, with witnesses saying the plane's left engine appeared to catch fire as it descended.
Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said the plane disappeared from radar at 2:40 p.m. local time.
The aircraft, which can fly both as a helicopter and as a conventional fixed-wing aircraft, is operated by the US Marine Corps, US Navy and Japan Self-Defense Forces.
The Osprey's deployment in Japan has been controversial, with critics saying it is accident-prone. The US and Japanese militaries say it is safe.
In August, a US Osprey crashed off the northern coast of Australia while transporting troops during a routine military exercise, killing three US Marines.
Another accident, when the plane crashed into the sea off the southern Japanese island of Okinawa in December 2016, prompted the US military to temporarily ground the plane.
Huy Hoang (according to Reuters)
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