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Two U.S. Ospreys make emergency landings in Japan

29 Comments
By Saul Loeb

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29 Comments
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Way to mislead people. There's a huge difference between an 'emergency landing' to check a warning light and an accident. Especially if it took off again in two hours, there was nothing wrong.

These 'emergency landings' are intended to appease the Japanese public, to show that the US military is concerned about their safety, yet they are used for more fear mongering like there are Ospreys are falling out of the sky.

10 ( +13 / -3 )

There's a huge difference between an 'emergency landing' to check a warning light and an accident. Especially if it took off again in two hours, there was nothing wrong.

Even a commercial airliner that makes an unscheduled stop that is not in the flight plan will have that stop be called an "emergency landing" by media outlets looking for headlines.

It should have read, "2 Ospreys make unscheduled stops" but then you wouldn't get the anti- whatever folks up in arms!

8 ( +11 / -3 )

Osprey, isn't that the one they called the widow maker?

-6 ( +3 / -9 )

Osprey, isn't that the one they called the widow maker?

Is that queued up on ctrl-v just waiting for this headline?

6 ( +7 / -1 )

I am sure the anti-USA minority in Okinawa will blow this small incident up. Wise to remember: Ospreys are protecting Okinawa from invasion. Would you rather a few rare osprey incidents, or being imminently invaded by a neighboring nation?

2 ( +8 / -6 )

One can point out that the Ospreys have always been dogged by safety concerns and have had multiple incidents both in Japan and elsewhere, without that being a bash-the-U.S. military in Japan thing.

The truth is that the U.S. military has suffered through a spate of incidents in Japan, however you want to characterize them, and it seems far more than it used to be. Over the decades I have lived in Japan, I just do not remember this volume of even minor incidents.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Zones,

This isn't an incident. This is a precautionary landing to ensure the aircraft is capable of completing its flight without incident.

World,

This isn't newsworthy this is just pilots being responsible.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

Ospreys are protecting Okinawa from invasion.

Would the invaders be Martians, perhaps?

Surely no human would think of invading Okinawa. What would they stand to gain?

All the sugar cane and goya they could eat?

-6 ( +2 / -8 )

@zones2surf

thats because these ‘minor incidents’ aren’t incidents at all but are being played up by the media to put the military in bad light.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Surely no human would think of invading Okinawa. What would they stand to gain?

China needs the space for population, and military, just look at South China Sea. Don’t be fooled into thinking Okinawa is “safe”. If USA ever left ( and they won’t) the battle to take over Okinawa island will be fierce.

-3 ( +3 / -6 )

@CrucialS & @extanker,

You miss the point.

I have lived in Japan since the early 1970s. When the U.S. had a far greater military footprint on the islands.

What I am trying to point out is that there has never been this level of incidents, of whatever nature, involving U.S. military aircraft.

You can characterize them as precautionary measures or whatever... and that may be true. And it may be true that some try to play them up.

Nevertheless, the sheer volume of anything other than routine flights is increasing.

And when you combine it with the recent incidents involving U.S. Navy ships, it is not unreasonable to question whether training, maintenance and other issues is creating problems for the U.S. military.

And this is from someone who is no hater of the U.S. military in Japan.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Surely no human would think of invading Okinawa. What would they stand to gain?

A forward base to attack other Japanese territory. Not to mention nullifying existing bases to prevent counter-attack.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

How about we buy more?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I am sure the anti-USA minority in okinawa

ever been to Okinawa? Minority? Please use facts.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

It is the anti base majority of the Okinawa people. Most Okinawa people actually like Americans but the bases take up too much space on the island. Due to the growing population of Okinawa more space is needed for the civilians.

As for the Osprey, there were two emergency landings within a short period of time. The question is how many Ospreys are deployed to Japan and how many flight numbers do they accumulate each month? I know the US DOD will never disclose these numbers due to security. So my question is how many accidents per 1000 hours of Osprey operations? I do not expect to see this number as well.

These two Ospreys landed due to a malfunction and thus they were emergency landings.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

These two Ospreys landed due to a malfunction and thus they were emergency landings.

as compared to the numerous helicopter crashes in Japan over the last few years, resulting in multiple deaths yet we still haven't banned helicopters in Japan yet!?

Due to the growing population of Okinawa more space is needed for the civilians.

and this is why a new base is being built in Nago with new land being built to house the base. Futenma will free up a huge amount of space for the people of Okinawa.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Yubaru,

To borrow extanker's expression, there's "a huge difference between an 'emergency landing' referred to in the article and your use of "unscheduled stop". Pilots make an emergency landing when a mechanical glitch is detected first hand by him or through an alarm system. But a pilot makes an unscheduled stop when emergent hospitalization of a passenger patient is needed or when potential terrorism may occur. Such emergency landing which you call an unscheduled stop has nothing to do with a mechanical glitch of the aircraft.

The fact that the pilots of these aircraft had to make emergency landing because there were a battery of alarms tells the aircraft had a mechanical failure of some kind. Or were there pregnant women or terrorists aboard these aircraft?

Do you know the Osprey that made an emergency landing on Amami Airport last June had to be grounded there for a month before it flew off after repairing?  Do you call that an unscheduled landing?

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

@zones2surf

no, you miss the point. Nothing has changed, you just never heard of things like precautionary landings because it wasn’t newsworthy. There wasn’t a media agenda to blacken the eye of the US military. Now anything that can possibly be spun to make the military look bad is thrown front and center in the public eye.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

What I am trying to point out is that there has never been this level of incidents, of whatever nature, involving U.S. military aircraft.

I get the impression that while you may have been here since forever, you did not have information or access to it like you do today. You really are mistaken in your beliefs.

Read the following link;

https://forum.keypublishing.com/showthread.php?43214-Accident-Report-US-military-accidents-in-1972-to-2000-in-Okinawa-Japan

What you witnessed here with these two is an obvious effort by pilots to AVOID any true emergencies from occurring.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

The fact that the pilots of these aircraft had to make emergency landing because there were a battery of alarms tells the aircraft had a mechanical failure of some kind. Or were there pregnant women or terrorists aboard these aircraft?

You are assuming something you dont know as fact and are attempting to pass off something YOU think as being a fact.

Sadly there are going to be some who read what you wrote, think it's true, then pass off a falsehood as fact, and that's how people potentially get hurt, because you started a lie.

These types of posts, passing along assumptions and lies should be deleted, but somehow you get a pass. That is even MORE worrisome.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

@voiceofokinawa

One of the Ospreys took off two hours later. I can tell you with 100% assurance that there was nothing major wrong with that aircraft. The 'emergency landing' was only precautionary to show the Japanese public that they are taking things seriously.

Now, the difference between my assumptions and yours is that I actually have extensive experience working with large, complicated military equipment. Please stop making ridiculous assumptions and spreading false information.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

extanker,

There are assumed to be two reasons for why an aircraft makes an emergency landing. One: an occurrence of engine trouble or a glitch of  some kind in the mechanical system of the aircraft. Two: a non-mechanical reason such as terrorism or an occurrence of an emergency patient. If it's the first reason, an alert lamp would automatically light. If it's the latter case, it's up to the pilot that must decide what to do.

A spate of emergency landings of Ospreys that have occurred recently were apparently the first case. Mechanical trouble of some kind occurred in the aircraft, so that the pilots had to take emergency landings as precautionary measures. You can call them unscheduled stops or whatever, but it's certain that mechanical glitches occurred in the aircraft.

As I pointed out above, the Osprey that made an emergency landing on Amami Airport last June had to be grounded there for a month before it finally took off after finishing the repairing. Do you insist that there was nothing wrong or serious in the aircraft's engine or fuselage?  Oh, incidentally, have the U.S. military authorities detailed the cause of the trouble?

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

There are assumed to be two reasons for why an aircraft makes an emergency landing.

No, there are plenty of reasons that an unscheduled landing may occur, YOU are assuming something not reported, so, your opinions are based upon assumptions not any facts.

Oh and WORDS matter, just because a report is made that it was an "emergency" landing does not make it a fact.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

"Surely no human would think of invading Okinawa. What would they stand to gain?"

Okinawa & Yonaguni is what will keep China's navy bottled up inside the first island chain in the event of conflict with Japan. As the mafiosi would say Okinawa is una spina in China's fianco!

Okinawa stops China from breaking free into the Pacific. Okinawa is what stopped China's maritime pretensions in the past; it's what still stops China today.

Look at any map; it's not that difficult.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Okinawa;s geo importance:

https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/japan-fortifies-remote-island-chain-to-keep-china-at-bay

1 ( +1 / -0 )

If a warning flashes up on a screen, it is safer to land and check it out. It could be something mechanical, or a health issue, or it could be a computer glitch. Either way, better safe than sorry. I am sure these Osprey pilots have been told to risk nothing and get their bird down at the earliest opportunity, just to be on the safe side.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

@nandakandamanda

Thank you. I don’t know why this is so hard for some people to understand.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Okinawa;s geo importance:

No they can't, they live in on a different planet and believe that everyone is singing kumbaya around the camp fire!

None of the people who are against the US military in Japan will admit that there is any strategic significance to the location of Okinawa itself, it's too hard for them to admit.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

If a warning flashes up on a screen, it is safer to land and check it out. It could be something mechanical, or a health issue, or it could be a computer glitch. Either way, better safe than sorry. I am sure these Osprey pilots have been told to risk nothing and get their bird down at the earliest opportunity, just to be on the safe side.

No, no, no, no.....they can't be doing this! THERE are problems! There have to be emergencies!

Never forget the same people will spit fire at the military for NOT taking precautions too! GO figure huh?

They would prefer that the Osprey crash, and people die! More fuel for the fire! How dare they take precautions!

2 ( +2 / -0 )

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