Japan grounds most military training aircraft after deadly crash

Reuters

Japan grounded nearly 200 T-4 military training aircraft on Wednesday following the crash of one of the planes minutes after takeoff.

Search efforts are focused near Iruka Pond, a reservoir about 10 kilometers northeast of the air base. The aircraft, a 36-year-old T-4, was not equipped with a voice or flight data recorder. Parts of the plane and crew equipment were found at the crash site, and officials are preparing to collect fuel leaked from the aircraft into the reservoir.

The incident has prompted the temporary grounding of nearly 200 T-4s for safety checks and training. The crashed plane was on its way back to Nyutabaru Air Base in Miyazaki prefecture after delivering a F-15 fighter jet to Komaki Air Base for scheduled maintenance.

This crash adds to a series of recent military aviation accidents. In April 2024, two SH-60K Navy helicopters crashed during training, killing all eight crew members, and in 2023, a UH-60JA Black Hawk helicopter crashed, resulting in the deaths of 10 crew members.

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