Wreck of MSDF copter found; 3 crew confirmed dead

Prayers for those men and their families.

Smith is correct in this case. Under Japanese law the only people who can declare persons dead are medical practitioners. As such, when reporting on accidents such as this, the term, "in a state of cardio-respiratory arrest" is a euphemism. It just means that there was no doctor onsite to confirm death had occurred.

"in a state of cardio-respiratory arrest" why cant Japan just say it how it is, fell out of the sky, impact caused severe head internal injuries, . oh and there hearts stopped also. AKA DIED ON IMPACT.

As other have noted in this thread and in others, there must be a law in existence against on-site responders declaring people legally dead. I'm sure if you go back to whenever that law was enacted you'll find sometime before then somebody was declared dead at the scene when in fact they weren't.

"in a state of cardio-respiratory arrest" why cant Japan just say it how it is, fell out of the sky, impact caused severe head internal injuries, . oh and there hearts stopped also. AKA DIED ON IMPACT.

Guys, they weren't in commas, and being found 'in a state of cardio-resperatory arrest' means they were dead,

They weren't in periods, either. (grinning, ducking, and running) Now I just have to quintuple-check my post for typos before clicking "Submit". Karma is a biyaitch!

Thank you, moderator - I am aware of that. It is difficult to believe that such calm weather here in Kumamoto could deteriorate sufficiently in 200km to bring down a helicopter.

You should start believing it. Apparently you have never watched a frontal system approach your sunny and calm location. Weather can be significantly different from your location only 20 miles away. There's a reason why pilots have to check the weather prior to conducting a flight. Just because it's sunny and mild where the flight starts doesn't guarantee the weather will remain so everywhere along the flight.

Guys, they weren't in commas, and being found 'in a state of cardio-resperatory arrest' means they were dead, but legally they cannot be pronounced dead and so are taken to a hospital where they CAN be, by a doctor. In any case, RIP.

Over 125 miles apart and you find it hard to believe the weather could be that much different? Depending on where a storm front is, wind direction/speed and the terrain the weather could be significantly different in a much less distance.

The story was updated.

three crew members were found in a state of cardio-respiratory arrest and taken to hospital where they were pronounced dead late Friday afternoon.

It definitely says they were confirmed dead...

I agree with onagagamo, the "state of respiratory arrest" basically means they were found dead. I think they use this way of saying it untill the persons are officially declared dead by a doctor in a hospital. I'm sure doctors are present in the rescue teams but for some reason it seems that people are not officially declared dead on site.

The helicopter wasn't flying over Kumamoto.

Thank you, moderator - I am aware of that. It is difficult to believe that such calm weather here in Kumamoto could deteriorate sufficiently in 200km to bring down a helicopter.

They are basically dead, but in Japan they insist on saying stuff like "in a state of cardio-respiratory arrest"; unless they were found and given CPR within two minutes of crashing, highly unlikely given most doctors don't know how to perform it, let alone regular people who were probably first on the scene....

@Laguna I am living under the flight path of the Iruma Base at the moment. The amount of air traffic has increased considerably here as well. Besides the noise, it is quite scary.

The helicopter wasn't flying over Kumamoto.

Orange county, as in Los Alamitos?

The crew were found with their hearts stopped. The critical thing will be how long they were in that condition, as a lack of oxygen to the brain can cause brain damage. Hopefully they make a complete recovery.

I've noticed in Kumamoto an increased amount of military helicopters whoop-whoop-whooping about. It's starting to remind me of my childhood in Orange County, California. where the skies crawled with Hueys preparing for the Vietnam War.

Officials believe the chopper ran into bad weather.

I don't see any reason why these officials would lie, but here in Kumamoto has been the finest February day so far - not a breath of wind and crystal-blue skies. Anyway, hope the trio come out of their comas okay.

why do Brits say "to hospital" and yanks say "to the hospital"?