Latest news with #Inuyama
The Independent
22-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Two confirmed dead following Japanese training plane crash
Two Japanese air force members died shortly after their training aircraft crashed last week, the air force chief confirmed on Thursday. The T-4 plane, carrying two crew members, crashed into a reservoir minutes after taking off from Komaki Air Base in central Japan's Aichi prefecture on May 14. Autopsies revealed both crew members, aged 29 and 31, died just two minutes after takeoff, according to Air Self-Defense Force Chief of Staff Gen. Hiroaki Uchikura. The cause of the crash remains under investigation, prompting the grounding of all 196 remaining T-4 training aircraft for emergency inspections. Witnesses at the time told the NHK national broadcaster that they heard a loud noise like thunder, followed by sirens of police cars and fire engines. Defence Minister Gen Nakatani previously said the T-4 plane, which operates out of Nyutabaru air base, in the southern prefecture of Miyazaki, was heading back to its home base on an unspecified mission. Officials previously searched an area near the Iruka pond reservoir, approximately six miles northeast of the base and near the city of Inuyama, where debris from the aircraft has been discovered. This incident is the latest in a string of defense aircraft accidents in recent years, coinciding with Japan 's accelerated military buildup in response to China 's growing regional influence. Japan's doubled defense spending has raised concerns that weapons procurement may be prioritised over safety measures.
Japan Times
17-05-2025
- General
- Japan Times
Possible remains of missing ASDF plane crew member found
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said Friday that body parts possibly of a missing crew member of a Self-Defense Force trainer jet that crashed into Lake Iruka in central Japan have been found. The discovered body parts were heavily damaged, he told a news conference. Since the Air SDF's T-4 aircraft crashed into the agricultural reservoir in Inuyama, Aichi Prefecture, the SDF has been conducting an around-the-clock mission involving over 600 members to search for missing Capt. Takuji Ioka, 31, and 1st Lt. Shota Amitani, 29, of the 5th Air Wing in the southwestern prefecture of Miyazaki. On Wednesday, the T-4 aircraft took off from the ASDF's Komaki base in the Aichi city of Komaki at 3:06 p.m. for the Nyutabaru base in Miyazaki. The aircraft, however, disappeared from the radar around 3:08 p.m. while flying near Inuyama about 13 kilometers northeast of the Komaki base. Objects that appear to be parts of the T-4 aircraft's engines and wheel tires, as well as pilot seats and oxygen cylinders, have been found in search efforts so far.
CTV News
16-05-2025
- General
- CTV News
Japan retrieves remains of 1 of 2 service members whose training plane crashed
Firefighters gather for a search operation as a Japanese air force plane crashed after taking off for a training flight, at a pond in Inuyama, central Japan, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (Kyodo News via AP) TOKYO — Japanese defence officials said Friday they recovered the remains of one of two crew members who were missing since their military training aircraft crashed earlier this week. The air force T-4 aircraft carrying two service members crashed into a reservoir Wednesday, minutes after taking off from Komaki Air Base in the central Japanese prefecture of Aichi. On Friday, after two days of searching, rescuers recovered 'what appears to be the body of a crew member' and transported it to Komaki base for examination, Defense Minister Gen Nakatani told reporters. The air force grounded all remaining 196 of the training planes and began their emergency inspection on Thursday. The crash is the latest in a series of defence aircraft accidents in recent years and comes at a time when Japan is accelerating a military buildup to deter China's growing influence in the region. Japan has doubled its defence spending, raising concern that funding for weapons may be prioritized over safety measures. The crashed plane was 36 years old and wasn't fitted with a voice recorder or a flight data recorder. Mari Yamaguchi, The Associated Press
CTV News
15-05-2025
- General
- CTV News
Japan starts emergency inspections on nearly 200 military training planes after crash
A member of Japan's Self-Defense Forces hold objects believed to be debris from an Air Self-Defense Force trainer jet after they retrieved from a reservoir in Inuyama, central Japan, Thursday, May 15, 2025, following the trainer jet crash Wednesday. (Koji Harada/Kyodo News via AP) TOKYO — Japan's air force has begun emergency safety inspections on all of its nearly 200 military training aircraft after one of the planes crashed minutes after takeoff, officials said Thursday. The T-4 training aircraft, operated by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, or JASDF, and carrying two service members, crashed into a reservoir Wednesday, minutes after taking off from Komaki Air Base in the central Japanese prefecture of Aichi. While the search operation for the missing aircraft and the two crew members continued Thursday, the military announced that it had started emergency inspections on all remaining 196 of the training planes deployed at JASDF bases across the country. Their operation has been suspended since the crash and they will remain grounded until the cause is identified and safety checks are completed, Hiroaki Uchikura, the air force chief of staff, told reporters on Wednesday. The crash is the latest in a series of defense aircraft accidents in recent years and comes at a time when Japan is accelerating a military buildup to deter China's influence in the region and double its defense spending, raising concern that funding for weapons may be prioritized over safety measures. The crashed plane was a 36-year-old T-4 operated out of Nyutabaru Air Base, in the southern prefecture of Miyazaki. It wasn't fitted with a voice recorder or a flight data recorder, a setback for the investigation. Defense Minister Gen Nakatani on Thursday announced plans to promptly fit the training aircraft with voice and flight data recording equipment. The JASDF said Thursday the plane experienced trouble when it reached an altitude of 4,000 feet (1,200 metres) about one minute after takeoff. Kyodo News agency said that air traffic control didn't receive any contact from the T-4 aircraft about an emergency. The force said the plane was lost from radar two minutes after departure and crashed into a reservoir called the Iruka pond, about 10 kilometres (6 miles) northeast of the air base. Witnesses told the NHK national broadcaster that they heard a loud noise like thunder at the time of the crash. Debris believed to be of the aircraft, as well as lifesaving equipment and helmets of the crew were found near the reservoir. Mari Yamaguchi, The Associated Press
Japan Times
15-05-2025
- General
- Japan Times
Two crew feared dead after ASDF training jet crashes in Aichi
A search continued Thursday for an Air Self-Defense Force training aircraft that crashed shortly after takeoff from an ASDF base in Aichi Prefecture a day earlier, with the jet's two crew members feared dead. Aerial, underwater and ground searches at the crash site — a large reservoir in Inuyama, Aichi Prefecture — have recovered pieces of the T-4 training aircraft and some of the crew's equipment, including part of a helmet, Defense Ministry officials said. Oil slicks had earlier been spotted floating on the surface of the reservoir. The aircraft, which was bound for Nyutabaru Air Base in Miyazaki Prefecture, had taken off from Komaki Air Base in the city of Komaki on Wednesday afternoon, disappearing from radar just two minutes after departing the base, according to the officials. No abnormalities had been detected in the aircraft during preflight screenings, according to ASDF officials. However, the aircraft — which was built in 1989 — was not equipped with a flight data recorder or voice recorder. The Defense Ministry said it has formed a committee to probe the crash, but the lack of a recorder could complicate the investigation. Witnesses near the crash site said they had seen something resembling sparks emanating from the jet, followed by a loud boom when it crashed, local media reported. SDF personnel carry apparent parts of the T-4 training jet recovered from a reservoir in Inuyama, Aichi Prefeture, on Thursday. | JIJI "At this point, the cause of the crash is unknown, but we will continue to make every effort to rescue any survivors," Defense Minister Gen Nakatani told reporters Wednesday evening. ASDF helicopters, as well as local police and fire department officials, were combing the area Thursday for Capt. Takuji Ioka, 31, and 1st Lt. Shota Amaya, 29, according to defense officials. Amaya had been sitting in the front seat, where the pilot typically sits, and was believed to have been flying the plane. Speaking at a news conference late Wednesday, ASDF Chief of Staff Gen. Hiroaki Uchikura said that Ioka had accrued some 1,170 flight hours, while Amaya had built up about 480 hours of flight time. "The captain has over 1,000 hours, so he can be considered a veteran or midlevel,' Uchikura said. 'The first lieutenant is somewhere between beginner and midlevel. Both of them are qualified to fly the T4 trainer." An ASDF T-4 training aircraft. The jet that crashed on Wednesday was not equipped with a flight recorder or voice recorder. | JIJI The T-4 aircraft, which is manufactured by Kawasaki Heavy Industries and has been in service for nearly 40 years, was not equipped with a flight recorder or voice recorder, Uchikura added. In addition to its training role, the T-4 is also used by the ASDF's Blue Impulse aerobatic team. Self-Defense Forces aircraft have been involved a series of accidents in recent years. In April last year, two Maritime Self-Defense Force SH-60K helicopters collided during nighttime training off a remote island near Tokyo, leaving all eight aboard both choppers dead. That accident happened almost exactly a year after a Ground Self-Defense Force UH60 helicopter crashed off the coast of Miyako Island, Okinawa Prefecture, killing all 10 aboard, including the commander of the GSDF's Kumamoto-based 8th Division.
