U.S. Ship Salvages Wreckage Believed to Be Part of Crashed Osprey

The Yomiuri Shimbun

18:03 JST, December 27, 2023

YAKUSHIMA, Kagoshima — A U.S. ship on Wednesday salvaged what is believed to be part of the CV-22 Osprey which crashed near Yakushima Island, Kagoshima Prefecture on Nov. 29.

The wreckage, confirmed to have been taken aboard the salvage ship by Wednesday morning, is believed to be the part of the aircraft’s fuselage where the crew was seated, sources said. The wreckage was covered with a sheet, and part of what appeared to be a rotor blade was identified.

Of the eight crew members who were on board the Osprey, seven bodies have already been recovered. There were none in the wreckage, the sources said.

The U.S. military is expected to continue salvage operation since there is still wreckage in the sea.

The Osprey belonging to the U.S. Yokota Air Base in Tokyo crashed off the eastern coast of the island on the afternoon of Nov. 29. It left the U.S. Marine Corps’ Air Station Iwakuni in Yamaguchi Prefecture and was heading for the U.S. Kadena Air Base in Okinawa Prefecture.