Osprey deployment heightens safety worry

Okinawans fret about possibility of crashes in their own backyard

Heading this way: An MV-22 Osprey, the type of aircraft set to be deployed in Japan, is seen at a marine base in Cleveland on June 16. | AP / KYODO

By Ayako Mie
Staff Writer

Jul 10, 2012

The United States last month announced that the MV-22 Osprey transport aircraft will be deployed to U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa as scheduled in October.

The planned deployment has fueled anger among people living in Okinawa, who have long opposed the Futenma base, and Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture, where the aircraft are to first reach Japanese soil, because crashes involving the planes have raised safety concerns, earning the Osprey, like countless predecessors in aviation history, the nickname "widow maker."

Following are some questions and answers about the MV-22 Osprey:

OSPREY

Osprey deployment heightens safety worry

Okinawans fret about possibility of crashes in their own backyard

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