Latest news with #T-4s
Kyodo News
15-05-2025
- General
- Kyodo News
Search continues for 2 missing crew of crashed Japan ASDF trainer jet
KYODO NEWS - 10 hours ago - 13:02 | All, Japan Japan's Self-Defense Forces on Thursday continued searching for the two missing crew members of an Air Self-Defense Force training jet that crashed into a large reservoir in central Japan the previous day. The ASDF identified the two as Capt. Takuji Ioka, 31, and 1st Lt. Shota Amitani, 29. Amitani was sitting in the front seat, and Ioka was in the back, although it is unclear who was maneuvering the aircraft at the time as both seats have controllers, it said. Broken pieces of the aircraft and helmets believed to have been worn by the two men have been found at the reservoir, known as Lake Iruka. SDF members began the day's search in the morning using boats and a helicopter, while local police and rescue workers, including divers, joined the effort. On Wednesday, the T-4 jet disappeared from radar two minutes after it departed Komaki Air Base in Aichi Prefecture around 3:06 p.m. en route to a base in southwestern Japan. The investigation into the case is expected to face difficulties as the aircraft had no flight recorder. The ASDF has grounded other T-4 jets for the time being. The crashed aircraft, which belonged to Nyutabaru Air Base in Miyazaki Prefecture, was manufactured 36 years ago. The ASDF has 197 T-4s, which are domestically made, two-seat aircraft used primarily to train fighter jet pilots. They are also used by the force's Blue Impulse aerobatic team. Related coverage: Defense force trainer jet with 2 crew crashes in central Japan lake Bag with inflammable tube falls from U.S. forces chopper in Okinawa
Asahi Shimbun
15-05-2025
- General
- Asahi Shimbun
No emergency report from crew before ASDF jet disappeared
Crew of an Air Self-Defense Force jet believed to have crashed in a pond in Aichi Prefecture on May 14 did not report abnormalities or eject from the aircraft, Defense Ministry sources said. Rescue workers on May 15 continued the search for the two pilots at Irukaike pond in Inuyama. Aircraft fragments, survival equipment and other items have been found in and around the pond. The T-4 trainer aircraft, which took off from the Komaki Air Base in the prefecture at 3:06 p.m., disappeared off radar two minutes later. According to Defense Ministry sources, there are no records showing that the pilots, Capt. Takuji Ioka and 1st Lt. Shota Amitani, reported an abnormal situation or ejected. Ioka, 31, and Amitani, 29, are both based at the Nyutabaru Air Base in Miyazaki Prefecture. The T-4 was on the planned route to Irukaike pond, but it may have encountered trouble immediately after takeoff, the sources said. The aircraft, built in 1989, was not equipped with a flight data recorder. The ASDF has grounded its fleet of nearly 200 T-4s until safety measures are taken. SDF members on May 15 were looking for the pilots from aircraft and boats as well as on the ground. About 70 Aichi prefectural police officers and 16 members of the Inuyama fire department have joined the search.
The Mainichi
15-05-2025
- General
- The Mainichi
Search continues for 2 missing crew of crashed Japan ASDF trainer jet
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan's Self-Defense Forces on Thursday continued searching for the two missing crew members of an Air Self-Defense Force training jet that crashed into a large reservoir in central Japan the previous day. The ASDF identified the two as Capt. Takuji Ioka, 31, and 1st Lt. Shota Amitani, 29. Amitani was sitting in the front seat, and Ioka was in the back, although it is unclear who was maneuvering the aircraft at the time as both seats have controllers, it said. Broken pieces of the aircraft and helmets believed to have been worn by the two men have been found at the reservoir, known as Lake Iruka. SDF members began the day's search in the morning using boats and a helicopter, while local police and rescue workers, including divers, joined the effort. On Wednesday, the T-4 jet disappeared from radar two minutes after it departed Komaki Air Base in Aichi Prefecture around 3:06 p.m. en route to a base in southwestern Japan. The investigation into the case is expected to face difficulties as the aircraft had no flight recorder. The ASDF has grounded other T-4 jets for the time being. The crashed aircraft, which belonged to Nyutabaru Air Base in Miyazaki Prefecture, was manufactured 36 years ago. The ASDF has 197 T-4s, which are domestically made, two-seat aircraft used primarily to train fighter jet pilots. They are also used by the force's Blue Impulse aerobatic team.
Kyodo News
15-05-2025
- General
- Kyodo News
Search continues for 2 missing crew of crashed Japan ASDF trainer jet
KYODO NEWS - 29 minutes ago - 11:59 | All, Japan Japan's Self-Defense Forces on Thursday continued searching for the two missing crew members of an Air Self-Defense Force training jet that crashed into a large reservoir in central Japan the previous day. The ASDF identified the two as Capt. Takuji Ioka, 31, and 1st Lt. Shota Amitani, 29. Amitani was sitting in the front seat, and Ioka was in the back, although it is unclear who was maneuvering the aircraft at the time as both seats have controllers, it said. Broken pieces of the aircraft and helmets believed to have been worn by the two men have been found at the reservoir, known as Lake Iruka. SDF members began the day's search in the morning using boats and a helicopter, while local police and rescue workers, including divers, joined the effort. On Wednesday, the T-4 jet disappeared from radar two minutes after it departed Komaki Air Base in Aichi Prefecture around 3:06 p.m. en route to a base in southwestern Japan. The investigation into the case is expected to face difficulties as the aircraft had no flight recorder. The ASDF has grounded other T-4 jets for the time being. The crashed aircraft, which belonged to Nyutabaru Air Base in Miyazaki Prefecture, was manufactured 36 years ago. The ASDF has 197 T-4s, which are domestically made, two-seat aircraft used primarily to train fighter jet pilots. They are also used by the force's Blue Impulse aerobatic team. Related coverage: Defense force trainer jet with 2 crew crashes in central Japan lake Bag with inflammable tube falls from U.S. forces chopper in Okinawa
Japan Today
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Japan Today
Part of crashed ASDF training plane found; 2 crew missing
An Air Self-Defense Force training jet with two personnel aboard crashed into a large reservoir shortly after takeoff from a base near Nagoya, central Japan, the government said Wednesday. The ASDF said it is working to confirm the situation involving the T-4 jet, which disappeared from radar two minutes after departing Komaki Air Base, also in Aichi Prefecture, around 3:06 p.m. en route to a base in southwestern Japan. Nobody was reported hurt in the vicinity of the accident in Inuyama, a city in the same prefecture. Police said what appears to be oil was seen floating on the surface of the reservoir, known as Lake Iruka, located some 10 kilometers northeast of the base. Defense Minister Gen Nakatani told reporters in Tokyo that part of the jet was found near the crash site, and that the ASDF has set up an investigation committee to determine the cause of the incident. The two who went missing are both male pilots, a captain and a first lieutenant, Gen. Hiroaki Uchikura, chief of staff of the ASDF, told a press conference. But he stopped short of giving further personal details of the pilots. Uchikura also said the ASDF has decided to suspend T-4 flights for the time being and that the plane involved in the accident has no flight recorders. The crashed aircraft, which belonged to Nyutabaru Air Base in Miyazaki Prefecture, was manufactured 36 years ago. The ASDF has 197 T-4s, which are domestically made, two-seat aircraft used primarily to train fighter jet pilots. They are also used by the force's Blue Impulse aerobatic team. Lake Iruka is known to be one of the country's largest artificial agricultural reservoirs, spanning more than 1 km across at its widest point. On Wednesday, some people were seen bass fishing at the lake. In recent years, Self-Defense Forces aircraft have been involved in fatal accidents almost every year, such as a crash of a UH-60JA helicopter into waters off an island in the southern prefecture of Okinawa in April 2023, killing all 10 people aboard. In April last year, two SH-60K patrol choppers, each carrying four crew members, collided during a night submarine detection drill over waters near a remote Pacific island, with no survivors. © KYODO
