Tuesday's crash involving a U.S. Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey aircraft off Okinawa was most likely not the result of mechanical error, the top commander of the U.S. military in Japan told Defense Minister Tomomi Inada in a phone call on Wednesday, according to government officials.
Lt. Gen. Jerry Martinez, commander of U.S. Forces in Japan, talked to Inada after a MV-22 Osprey ditched 1 kilometer off the coast of Nago, in northern Okinawa Prefecture, around 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday. It was the first major accident involving the transport aircraft in Japan since it was deployed in the country in 2012.
The accident injured two of the five crew members on board. All were later rescued by the U.S. 33rd Rescue Squadron from Kadena Air Base and taken to a local U.S. naval hospital, the U.S. Marine Corps. said.