A Japan Ground Self-Defense Force helicopter carrying 10 members that went missing off the southern prefecture of Okinawa on Thursday may have crashed after the chopper encountered an unexpected anomaly during a 10-minute period after takeoff, GSDF officials said.
Search efforts continued Friday for the UH-60JA multipurpose helicopter that disappeared from radar near Okinawa's Miyako Island 10 minutes after departure and around 2 minutes after the crew communicated with air traffic control, the officials said.
The helicopter underwent a special inspection in late March after 50 flying hours and was taken for a one-hour flight to check its safety but no abnormalities were found at the time, they said, adding the aircraft was moved to Naha, the capital of Okinawa, on Tuesday and flew to Miyako Island on Thursday.
Those aboard included Lt. Gen. Yuichi Sakamoto, the 55-year-old commander of the GSDF's 8th Division based in the southwestern prefecture of Kumamoto to which the aircraft belonged, and senior members of the division, a Defense Ministry source said. Sakamoto just assumed the post on March 30, the GSDF said.
As the Self-Defense Forces and the Japan Coast Guard search for the missing with patrol vessels and aircraft, several objects, including two lifeboats that had not been inflated, part of a rotor blade, a door and a window frame, have been found in the area where the accident is believed to have occurred, according to the GSDF.
"We will continue to make every possible effort in the search for the 10 missing personnel," Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada told reporters in Tokyo in the morning.
According to the GSDF, the deadliest accident involving one of its aircraft was a helicopter crash in Ehime Prefecture in February 1968 that left eight people dead.
The helicopter took off 3:46 p.m. from a base on Miyako Island, and GSDF officials said the local weather was sunny with good visibility of over 10 kilometers. The wind was also mild, they said.
It flew for around 10 minutes on its route almost as per schedule before disappearing from the radar at 3:56 p.m. in the sea north of Shimojishima island, near Miyako Island. Around two minutes prior, the crew communicated with air traffic control at Shimojishima airport.
The flight was to surveil nearby land features, according to the GSDF. The chopper was originally scheduled to return to Miyako Island at 5:05 p.m.
Located about 400 kilometers east of Taiwan, Miyako Island is home to a GSDF land-to-ship missile unit. It is adjacent to the East China Sea and close to the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands, which are claimed by Beijing.
Related coverage:
Japan SDF chopper with 10 members aboard goes missing near Okinawa
