A United States military aircraft made an emergency landing at Hanamaki Airport in Japan’s Iwate Prefecture on Thursday.
According to airport officials, the pilot requested to land after reporting a technical issue. The aircraft landed safely without incident, and no crew members required medical assistance.
Footage aired by Japan’s national broadcaster NHK showed the aircraft executing a vertical landing. Additional images captured uniformed U.S. personnel standing near the parked Osprey on the tarmac.
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Operations at Hanamaki Airport were not affected, airport authorities confirmed.
The Osprey is a tilt-rotor aircraft capable of vertical takeoff and landing like a helicopter, with the ability to transition to forward flight like a conventional plane. However, the aircraft has been marred by a history of crashes, including a fatal 2023 incident off southern Japan that claimed eight lives. That crash led to a temporary global grounding of the Osprey fleet.
Local Japanese defense officials are reportedly on their way to Hanamaki to investigate the latest incident. U.S. Forces Japan has yet to release an official statement.
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