THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
April 2, 2019 at 14:55 JST
ITAMI, Hyogo Prefecture--A U.S. military Osprey aircraft made an emergency landing at Osaka Airport here on April 1, forcing a temporary shutdown of a runway, disrupting flight schedules and annoying surrounding municipalities.
The three crew members aboard the tilt-rotor transport aircraft were uninjured, and the Osprey was not damaged in the landing, according to the Defense Ministry’s Kinki-Chubu Defense Bureau in Osaka.
The aircraft, deployed at the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa Prefecture, was heading to the Naval Air Facility Atsugi in Kanagawa Prefecture after taking off from the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Yamaguchi Prefecture, the Defense Ministry said.
The transport ministry’s Osaka Airport office said the Osprey pilot contacted it about unspecified problems, and office closed one of the airport’s two runways in time for the expected emergency landing.
The Osprey landed at 1:56 p.m. and moved to a parking apron on its own.
The emergency landing caused delays up to 19 minutes for two arrivals and five departures, according to the transport ministry.
The U.S. Marines explained the emergency landing was made following set procedures after the Osprey’s warning lamp flashed. But they did not explain why the warning light turned on.
Authorities in surrounding municipalities dispatched fire engines to the airport after being alerted to the Osprey’s emergency landing. But they were given few details.
“We find it extremely regrettable that we were not provided information promptly,” said Yasuyuki Fujiwara, the Itami mayor who heads a consulting body that addresses problems concerning Osaka Airport.
The consulting body comprises 10 municipalities around the airport, which is hosted by Itami in Hyogo Prefecture, and Toyonaka and Ikeda in Osaka Prefecture.
The Osprey took off from the airport at 1:43 p.m. on April 2 after repairs.
The U.S. military uses Ospreys for training across Japan.
Since the first Osprey deployment at Futenma in 2012, the aircraft has made emergency landings in other civilian airports, including Amami Airport in Kagoshima Prefecture and Oita Airport in Oita Prefecture.
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A crew member checks an Osprey of the U.S. Marines after it made an emergency landing at Osaka Airport on April 1. (Taku Hosokawa)
