U.S. military helicopter bursts into flames on landing in Okinawa

But The handling was great.

Japan leaves the defense of the country to the foreign military. If they are demanding 100% of safety of operations and training of U.S. Forces, they are asking too much. Any military sometimes have to do dangerous training. If they do not like it, arm yourself quickly and do not rely her defense on a foreign military.

Japan leaves the defense of the country to the foreign military. If they are demanding 100% of safety of operations and training of U.S. Forces, they are asking too much. Any military sometimes have to do dangerous training. If they do not like it, arm yourself quickly and do not rely her defense on a foreign military.

Japan does not "leave the defense of the country to the foreign military", the foreign military assists and cooperates with Japan. There is a huge difference, as if Japan left it to the US, there would be no JSDF.

But on the rest, you are correct, no one is perfect, and by the nature of the business accidents do occur.

And the JSDF isn't perfect either.

A mandatory "Tengoku no Batsu" commentary...

Good thing that no one was hurt, though the frequence of Ospreys accidents suggests this is not Okinawan problem anymore - the aerial war machine itself should be taken down (and hopefully not replaced by anything) from the forces before something worse happens.

Didn't some posters recently tell us how much safer CH-53, etc are.

Glad no one was hurt.

Good thing that no one was hurt, though the frequence of Ospreys accidents suggests this is not Okinawan problem anymore - the aerial war machine itself should be taken down (and hopefully not replaced by anything) from the forces before something worse happens.

Good thing that people whose opinion matters actually read articles before making comments.

The CH-53 has a longer accident history and caused more related Deaths than the Osprey will for some time. Most of the models stopped being made in the 70's.

Wikipedia shows the full histories for each air-frame.

Key point is that no one was hurt. Far less dangerous than recent commercial aircraft flying over cities with parts falling off them and crushing cars. US military kept Japanese authorities in the know the whole time, it seems.

That American war machine just keeps on giving don't it. Soon to fight a thermonuclear in your backyard.

US military kept Japanese authorities in the know the whole time, it seems.

Which, whether you believe it or not, is a minor miracle considering the history here.

Soon to fight a thermonuclear in your backyard. well they could just pack up and leave Japan to fight that "thermonuclear" by themselves. good luck.

But, seriously, it was handling great right up to that point!

All US military bases OUT of Okinawa NOW!

According to yesterday's evening news on Asahi and a report they got from the army, the helicopter took fire in the air and then make an emergency landing quickly after. So it dit not took fire after landing

According to yesterday's evening news on Asahi and a report they got from the army, the helicopter took fire in the air and then make an emergency landing quickly after. So it dit not took fire after landing

Is it safe to assume that English is not your first language? I'd like to give you the benefit of the doubt here, first being, that saying it "took fire in the air" means it was shot at and hit, and secondly it was a Marine helicopter not army too.

At that time, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said it was "very regrettable" that a "serious accident" had occurred and stressed that the plane's safety record was a "pre-requisite" to the aircraft's deployment in Japan.

and he bought 27. 3 more crashed this last two months.

japans sdf is perfectly capable to defen itself.

These are dual purpose machines! The 2nd function is being the kamikaze helicopter.

well they could just pack up and leave Japan to fight that "thermonuclear" by themselves. good luck.

Would you be happy for the Japanese to set up military bases in the US?

Would you be happy for the Japanese to set up military bases in the US?

If it is at the invitation of the US Govt then it sounds great to me.

If it is at the invitation of the US Govt then it sounds great to me.

Excellent. In the interests of parity; I look forward to foreign bases being set up in the US.

I'm sure everyone will be in favor of it.

Before joining the Marines I was so impressed by the CH-53. I thought it was one of the coolest things in the air. Then I joined, and eventually started flying on them (as a passenger). It is rare for grunts like me to be involved in crashes even once in their career. I was involved with two crashes in six years. A couple of buds from boot camp that went into aviation maintenance always spoke to me of their undying hatred for that aircraft. It is fortunate that their were no injuries either civilians on the ground, or Marines onboard.

Excellent. In the interests of parity; I look forward to foreign bases being set up in the US. I'm sure everyone will be in favor of it.

I'd be in favor of it, if the bases were for the purpose of assisting with the defense of the US and military personnel assigned to the bases were willing to die in the defense of the US.

Lots of people of Chinese origin reside in USA, so a few Chinese bases would be great, of course, like Japan, USA must pay for them.

Schopenhauer,

It's too naive a perception if you think the USFJ are stationed here solely to defend Japan. They are stationed here as part of the U.S.’s global war strategy. Their bases are freely used as staging posts to invade other countries not directly posing threat to Japan's security. Marines in Okinawa are training their combat skills for jungle warfare at Northern Training Area, aka, Jungle Warfare Training Center. 

Then, is it reasonable for Japanese taxpayers to shoulder more than 70% of the maintenance/operation costs of those U.S. bases in light of the Japan-U.S. security treaty that defines why the U.S. military must be provided with facilities and areas in Japan?  Such being the case, their training here must be 100% safe and secure. They aren't "asking too much" as you say.  One military helicopter crash is too many if  that occurs on foreign soil.

Japanese taxpayers to shoulder more than 70% of the maintenance/operation costs of those U.S. bases

oh, your forgot we also have support (cash) 40000 of their family members too.

Voiceofokinawa,

Don't be naive. Of course the bases are used for anything in that region that might require military action. Their primary purpose is to support and defend Japan, but if they aren't needed to do that at the present time, they're also US military assets and are going to be used as such. 70% is not 100%.

And since you believe one helicopter crash is too much to continue, I suppose we should stop all commercial air travel too, as there has been a lot more one airliner crash. I suppose that's just too dangerous to continue as well. Come to think of it, there's WAY too many auto accidents, cars are gonna have to go too. Come on man.

All US military bases OUT of Okinawa NOW! not in your lifetime and probably not even in your children's lifetime, time to get use to the fact, life will be far less stressful

Am just going to say, I am happy all of the crew are unhurt in the accident.

voiceofokinawa

I know U.S. Forces are not stationing in Japan solely to defend Japan . Then, why does not Japan demand U.S. bases out of Japan? It is because Japan wants help of U.S. Forces and does not want to spend more money for her defense while they are facing threats from growing China. Also Japan does not want to hurt good relationship with U.S. since Japan cannot survive economically without sound relation with U.S. Moreover, Japanese people do not trust themselves. Japanese people are feudalistic in nature. Our democratic society today was a given one from America. Our society is still not democratic or individualistic. Japanese all fear revival of military Japan at the bottom of their hearts. So, it is the problem of Japan and not U.S. Forces stationed in Japan. We have to bear some sacrifices if we do not want a sufficient armed forces to defend ourselves.

extanker,

Don't be naive. Of course the bases are used for anything in that region that might require military action.

No, you can't use the bases in Japan for whatever purposes that may suit you. They are provided to the U.S. military in exchange for the defense and security of Japan and the Far East, and never beyond them. Article 6 of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty stipulates: "For the purpose of contributing to the security of Japan and the maintenance of international peace and security in the Far East, the United States of America is granted the use by its land, air and naval forces of facilities and areas in Japan. "

So using these bases as staging posts to invade countries beyond what is stipulated in this treaty is a blatant violation of the bilateral agreement. So is flight training and maneuvering by U.S. mainland-based fighter jets that regularly come to Kadena Air Base and train in Okinawa's airspace.

Use by U.S. Coast Guards and National Guards (and probably the Marine Corps themselves) of bases in Japan also violates Article 6 of the Security Treaty.

Regrettably, the Japanese government has turned a blind eye to such violations by the U.S. military for all these years.

and the maintenance of international peace and security in the Far East,

I guess you missed this part of your quote. The term 'Far East' covers a lot more than Japan. You really need to pay better attention.

extanker,

The term 'Far East' covers a lot more than Japan.

The term "Far East" as presupposed in the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty covers an area north of the Philippines that includes Japan and its vicinity (i.e., Taiwan and Korean Peninsular). Certainly, it doesn't include Southeast Asia and South Asia, Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East (i.e., Afghanistan, Iraq) and the Indian Ocean.