Bodies of five more U.S. troops found in Osprey aircraft crash in Japan
Five more American service members were found dead Monday off the coast of Japan, days after their Osprey aircraft went down during a training mission.
Eight U.S. troops were onboard the CV22 Osprey when it crashed last Wednesday near Yakushima Island in southern Japan. One person was found dead hours later, while two others remain missing.
The five people found Monday have not yet been identified. The recovery operation continued throughout the day after the bodies were discovered in the morning, according to the Air Force Special Operations Command. Crews also found the aircraft’s fuselage.
“As efforts persist for the location and recovery of the entire crew, the privacy of the families and loved ones impacted by this tragic incident remains a great concern,” the command said in a statement.
Air Force Staff Sgt. Jacob Galliher of Pittsfield, Mass., was publicly identified Saturday as the man found dead in the hours following the crash.
The Osprey (photo) takes off and lands like a helicopter, but can tilt its propellers in midair to fly much faster, like an airplane. The one that crashed in Japan departed from U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, about 280 miles north of the crash site.
Military investigators have not yet determined the cause of the crash. Eyewitnesses told Japanese news outlets that the Osprey flipped over and burst into flame before splashing into the ocean.
Ospreys have a history of crashes. In August, one crashed in Australia during a joint training session, killing three American soldiers and injuring more than a dozen others. In response to last week’s crash, Japan grounded all its Ospreys. Japan is the only other country that flies the unique aircraft.
The Japanese government said it asked the U.S. government to also ground its Ospreys while the crash is investigated. However, the U.S. has continued to fly the aircraft.
The U.S. military has full control over the crash investigation as part of a military agreement with Japan.