Osprey’s accident rate surges after deployment in Okinawa

November 9, 2017

TOKYO- The MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft's accident rate surged about 1.7-fold after its deployment at the US Marine Corps' Futenma air station in Okinawa Prefecture, southern Japan, it was learned on Wednesday.

The incidence of serious accidents involving MV-22 Osprey transporters came to a worst-ever level of 3.27 per 100,000 flight hours at the end of September, against 2.72 for all aircraft of the Marines, according to Japanese Defense Ministry officials.

As of April 2012, before the Osprey deployment at the Futenma base, the Osprey accident rate was 1.93, below the Marines' average at 2.45.

"A recent rise in tough drills and missions may be one reason," Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera said.

The Japanese government "will proceed as planned" with the introduction of Osprey airplanes to the country's Self-Defense Forces, Onodera added. There were 10 serious accidents involving the MV-22 Osprey between October 2003 and September this year, with three of them in the last year, including a crash off the coast of Okinawa in December. Jiji Press