Pieces of what appears to be debris from a Ground Self-Defense Force helicopter that went missing on Thursday were found early Friday in the sea off Okinawa Prefecture, with a frantic search for the 10 SDF members who were aboard so far bearing no fruit.
The helicopter had taken off from a base on the prefecture’s Miyako Island, but it disappeared from radar 10 minutes later. It had corresponded with the control tower about two minutes before it disappeared, indicating that something went wrong soon after.
The Japan Coast Guard retrieved at least 10 pieces of debris, including a large window panel that had GSDF inscribed on it and two lifeboats — one of which had a serial number showing it was installed on the missing helicopter.
The helicopter departed the Air Self-Defense Force base on Miyako Island at 3:46 p.m. on Thursday before it disappeared from radar. The UH60 helicopter was on a patrol mission to check the landscape nearby, and it was meant to return to the base at around 5 p.m.
Lt. Gen. Yuichi Sakamoto, the 55-year-old commander of the GSDF’s 8th Division based in Kumamoto Prefecture — which is in charge of the defense of Kyushu — was among the 10 personnel on board.
“We have been searching near the site around the clock since the incident but we haven’t been able to find Lt. Gen. Sakamoto and nine others,” Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada told reporters on Friday morning.
Two Maritime Self-Defense Force vessels, eight SDF aircrafts and four JCG ships were searching the area on Friday. Hamada said later in the day that he had increased the GSDF’s search and rescue team to 200 people from an initial group of 20.
The GSDF set up an investigation committee probe the cause of the incident and halted the operation of the same type of helicopter. The craft underwent a checkup at the end of March, according to the GSDF.
Since the weather was stable at the time of the incident, the GSDF is looking into the possibility of a malfunction or a mistake in steering the aircraft.
“We are taking it seriously that this kind of accident has happened,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said on Friday. “We will make sure to ensure the safety of SDF aircraft.”
On Thursday, a Chinese intelligence ship passed through waters between mainland Okinawa and Miyako Island, but Hamada told a Lower House committee on Friday that he has not received any reports that this had something to do with the incident.
In 2016, six people were killed after an ASDF U-125 flight inspection plane crashed in a mountainous area of Kagoshima Prefecture, one of the deadliest accidents involving an SDF aircraft in recent years.
In 2018, a GSDF combat helicopter crashed into a house in Kanzaki, Saga Prefecture, killing two on board and causing a minor injury to one local resident.
Past Self-Defense Force aircraft crashes
April 2012: A Maritime Self-Defense Force helicopter crashes in Mutsu Bay, Aomori Prefecture, killing the captain on board.
February 2015: An MSDF helicopter crashes in the mountains of Ebino, Miyazaki Prefecture, killing three crew members on board.
April 2016: An Air Self-Defense Force U125 aircraft crashes in Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture, killing six people.
May 2017: A Ground Self-Defense Force aircraft crashes in the mountains of Hokkaido’s city of Hokuto, killing four people on board.
August 2017: An MSDF patrol helicopter crashes in the coast off Tappizaki cape in Aomori Prefecture, with two out of three aboard found dead and the remaining one never found.
October 2017: An ASDF rescue helicopter crashes in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, killing four on board.
February 2018: A GSDF combat helicopter crashes into a house in Kanzaki, Saga Prefecture, killing two on board and causing a minor injury to one local resident.
April 2019: An ASDF F35A fighter jet crashes in the Pacific Ocean off Aomori Prefecture, killing one on board.
January 2022: An ASDF F15 fighter jet crashes in the Sea of Japan off Ishikawa Prefecture, killing two crew members.
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