Pilot's vertigo caused deadly 2018 helicopter crash in Gunma, government report says
Transportation authorities concluded Thursday that pilot vertigo caused an August 2018 helicopter crash in a mountainous area that killed all nine crew members. Noriyuki Amagai, the 57-year-old pilot of the Bell 412EP rescue helicopter, is believed to have lost his bearings due to "spatial disorientation" ...
No injuries or fire reported after Ground Self-Defense Force helicopter crashes at west Tokyo base
Both crew members escaped unharmed from a multipurpose military helicopter that made a crash landing at its camp in Tachikawa, western Tokyo, on Friday, the Ground Self-Defense Force said. The UH-1J helicopter was being flown in an emergency landing training exercise when it came down ...
After Gunma chopper crash, ministry mulls expediting cheaper flight recorders for small aircraft
The transport ministry plans to promote the installation of flight data recorders in small aircraft in light of a spate of accidents involving helicopters and planes that didn't have the devices, ministry officials say. The recorders play a vital role in accident investigations by providing ...
Gunma copter crash kills all nine crew members and passengers
Authorities comb a mountain for clues after confirming that everyone who was on the Gunma Prefectural Government rescue chopper died in the crash.
The GSDF chopper crash might derail the government’s effort to militarize Saga Airport for a planned Japanese Osprey wing.
Rotor problem caused U.S. chopper's emergency landing in Okinawa
The U.S. Marines disclose that a rotor problem prompted the emergency landing one of its choppers made on Ikeijima Island in Okinawa on Saturday.
The U.S. Marine Corps in Okinawa on Wednesday resumed flight operations of its CH-53E transport helicopters, insisting it has confirmed their safety following a crash-landing by one a week ago. A CH-53E took off Wednesday morning from U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan, ...
Nagano solicits outside help after losing most-seasoned fire-rescue chopper pilot in crash
Nagano is seeking the cooperation of other prefectures to deal with emergencies in the mountains after its only experienced firefighting-capable helicopter pilot was killed in a crash Sunday during a training exercise. Masaji Iwata, 56, was one of nine members of a rescue crew killed ...
Friends and colleagues mourn deaths of Nagano helicopter crash victims
People who knew the nine men killed in a rescue helicopter crash Sunday during a drill in Nagano Prefecture expressed painful feelings after desperately hoping for their survival. A close family friend of the chopper's mechanic, Ryota Shimizu, 45, said Monday he felt saddened after ...
MSDF chief in hot water for alleged interference in chopper contract: source
In a rare move, the Defense Ministry plans to reprimand Adm. Tomohisa Takei, chief of staff of the Maritime Self-Defense Force, for exerting inappropriate pressure during the selection process for a next-generation helicopter to replace the UH-60J, government sources said. Top-ranking officers are rarely reprimanded, ...
Aichi hospital partners with IT firm in first for air ambulance training
Aichi Medical University Hospital has partnered with an IT firm to develop software designed to better train air ambulance crews. The software, developed by Nagoya-based Core Corp. Chubu Company, will feature footage of doctors and nurses providing emergency care aboard air ambulances, or "doctor helicopters." It ...
Japan's Daicel and Britain's BAE target helicopter air bags for U.S. Army
Japanese air bag component maker Daicel Corp. and Britain's biggest defense firm, BAE Systems, are designing an air bag for military helicopters that they hope to sell to the U.S. Army.
