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U.S. Military Grounds Hundreds of Ospreys After Fatal Crash Off Japan
The Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps said a problem with the aircraft may have caused the crash last week, which is believed to have killed eight airmen.
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Debris believed to be from the CV-22 Osprey that crashed off the island of Yakushima in Japan on Nov. 29 was brought ashore last week. Credit...Jiji Press, via Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
By Hikari Hida and Aishvarya Kavi
Hikari Hida reported from Tokyo, and Aishvarya Kavi from Washington.
Published Dec. 6, 2023Updated Dec. 7, 2023, 1:34 a.m. ET
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The U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps said on Wednesday that they were grounding their fleets of Ospreys after a preliminary investigation found that a problem with the aircraft may have caused a crash last week off Japan that is believed to have killed all eight airmen aboard.
In a statement, the Air Force cited “a potential materiel failure” in the crash, though it said the “underlying cause of the failure” remained unclear. The service said it had grounded its Ospreys to “provide time and space for a thorough investigation.” The U.S. Naval Air Systems Command, which is responsible for the Marine Corps’ and Navy’s versions of the Osprey, said it had followed suit “out of an abundance of caution.”
The grounding affects nearly 500 military aircraft: The Air Force has 54 Ospreys, the Navy has 48 and the Marine Corps has 360.
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Hikari Hida reports from the Tokyo bureau, where she covers news and features in Japan. She joined The Times in 2020. More about Hikari Hida
Aishvarya Kavi is based in the Washington bureau. More about Aishvarya Kavi
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