Latest news with #T4Crash
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.
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
Arab News
14-05-2025
- General
- Arab News
Japan grounds military training aircraft after crash leaves 2 crew members missing
TOKYO: Japan grounded most of its aging military training aircraft on Wednesday after one of the planes crashed minutes after take off. Two crew are missing after the T-4 training aircraft operated by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force crashed after taking off from Komaki Air Base, in the central Japanese prefecture of Aichi, officials said. The force said the plane was lost from radar two minutes after departure. The authorities are searching for the missing aircraft and its crew in an area near a reservoir known as the Iruka pond, officials said. The reservoir, in the city of Inuyama, is about 10 kilometers (6 miles) northeast of the air base. The military has grounded temporarily nearly 200 T-4s until the cause of the accident is identified and safety checks and training are carried out, Hiroaki Uchikura, the air force chief of staff, told a news conference late Wednesday. The crashed plane was a 36-year-old T-4 operated out of Nyutabaru Air Base, in the southern prefecture of Miyazaki. It was not fitted with a voice recorder or a flight data recorder. Defense Minister Gen Nakatani earlier Wednesday told reporters that parts of the aircraft have been found at the crash site. Officials were also preparing to collect fuel apparently leaked from the aircraft and floating in the reservoir, Nakatani said. Lifesaving equipment and helmets of the crew were also found, Uchikura said. Witnesses told the NHK national broadcaster that they heard a loud noise like thunder, followed by sirens of police cars and fire engines. The T-4 was returning to Nyutabaru air base after its crew had earlier helped deliver a F-15 fighter jet to Komaki Air Base for scheduled maintenance, Uchikura said. A captain with more than 1,000 hours of flight experience had piloted the F-15, while a first lieutenant piloted the T-4. Both were in the T-4 on their way back to Komaki when the incident happened. The crash is the latest in a series of defense aircraft accidents in recent years. In April 2024, two SH-60K navy reconnaissance helicopters crashed during nighttime anti-submarine training near Torishima island, about 600 kilometers south of Tokyo, leaving all eight crewmembers dead. In 2023, an army UH-60JA Black Hawk helicopter on a reconnaissance mission crashed off a southern island of Miyako, with the loss of 10 crew.
