U.S.-Japanese search and rescue divers found an Osprey military transport aircraft that crashed during a training flight off the coast of Kyushu along with the remains of American servicemen, U.S. Airforce said Monday. File photo by Keizo Mori/UPI |
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Dec. 4 (UPI) -- U.S.-Japanese search and rescue divers found an Osprey military transport aircraft that crashed during a training flight south of Kyushu on Wednesday along with human remains, the U.S. Airforce said Monday.
The Air Force Special Operations Command said dive teams were able to confirm the remains of five crew members from the original crew of eight involved in the crash of the CV-22 aircraft and that the remains of two had been successfully recovered as of Monday morning.
"There is an ongoing combined effort to recover the remaining crew members from the wreckage," the Air Force said, adding that the identities of the members located Monday had not yet been determined.
The Air Force earlier identified a victim of the crash who was found Wednesday as Air Force Staff Sgt. Jacob M. Galliher, 24, of Pittsfield, Mass., a language specialist working in intelligence out of Yokota Air Base, west of Tokyo. He enlisted in 2017.
"Jacob was a beloved husband, father, son, and brother as well as a model Airman who will be forever remembered for his dedication to this great nation and his fellow warriors," said U.S. Air Force Maj. Gilbert Summers, 43rd Intelligence Squadron, Detachment 1 Commander.
The aircraft came down in the ocean near Yakushima Island after a witness reported seeing the left engine on fire moments before it crashed and disappeared from the Coast Guard's radar screen.
A joint operation is underway to recover the remains which were discovered on the seabed Sunday during a combined U.S.-Japanese search and rescue dive.
"The main priority is bringing the Airmen home and taking care of their family members. Support to, and the privacy of, the families and loved ones impacted by this incident remains AFSOC's top priority," the Air Force said earlier.
The major search and rescue operation combined U.S. military-Japanese Coast Guard air, surface, and subsurface area searches of the water and coastline. Rescue assets included the USS Carl Vinson and its air wing, divers, unmanned vehicles, and search and rescue experts.
The crash prompted concern from Japan as the United States continued to fly Osprey aircraft in the following days despite a request by Tokyo to halt the flights.
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hrikazu Matsuno on Friday said the United States had halted flights of CV-22 Ospreys, like the one involved, in the crash but continued flights of others.
