Japan protests against resumption of US Osprey tiltrotor flights

The Okinawa Prefectural Assembly has protested the resumption of US Osprey tiltrotor flights, Report informs referring to the Kyodo agency.

The protest and written opinion that tiltrotors should be removed from the US Marine Corps base Futenma were adopted unanimously.

In March, the US military resumed tiltrotor flights, which had been stopped since November due to an accident in Japan that killed 8 people.

There are currently 29 Osprey tiltrotors deployed in Japan, at Yokota Air Force Base near Tokyo 5 and US Marine Corps Base Futenma in Okinawa 24, as well as 14 such tiltrotors belonging to the Ground Self-Defense Forces and stationed at Kisarazu Base in Chiba, just outside Tokyo.

Despite assurances from the Ministry of Defense that detailed explanations were received from the American side, detailed information about the causes of the accident is not publicly available. This is explained by the specifics of the issue related to secrecy.

People in areas where Osprey flights take place are concerned about tiltrotor safety issues.