An Air Self-Defense Force plane veered from its path during takeoff training Friday at Yonago Airport in Tottori Prefecture, stopping in a nearby grass field and prompting a brief closure of the runway.
The C-2 transport became uncontrollable after its brakes failed and it went into the field after cutting across the runway at around 6:40 a.m., according to the ASDF's Miho Air Base in Tottori Prefecture. Its six-member crew was unhurt.
The runway reopened about three hours later after the plane was removed from the area, the base said. The ASDF and police are investigating the cause of the accident.
The join-use airport in the city of Sakaiminato on the Sea of Japan coast is shared by the Self-Defense Forces and commercial aircraft. Due to the brief runway closure, some All Nippon Airways flights connecting Yonago and Haneda airport in Tokyo were canceled, the airline said.
Three C-2 transport planes were deployed at Miho Air Base in March and have been undergoing operational testing with an eye to starting operations there in December.