The accident in which a Ground Self-Defense Force helicopter disappeared near Miyako Island in Okinawa Prefecture, leaving 10 people missing, was one week after the accident occurred on the 13th.

While more than 1 parts related to the aircraft have been recovered in the search so far, no strong clues have been obtained that lead to the SDF members, and the Self-Defense Forces and the Japan Coast Guard are rushing to find them.

In the accident where a Ground Self-Defense Force helicopter disappeared after taking off from Miyako Island in Okinawa Prefecture on June 6, 8 people are still missing, including Division Commander Yuichi Sakamoto of the 10th Division.

The aircraft disappeared from the radar about 3 kilometers northeast of Irabu Island, which is adjacent to Miyako Island, and the Ground Self-Defense Force revealed on the 22th that it had recovered 13 parts related to the aircraft, including part of the fuel tank and rotor blades, in addition to the helmets of the crew members in the search so far.

Of these, 15 parts were recovered off the coast or offshore of Irabu Island south of the vanishing point, and 7 parts were recovered in the waters north of the vanishing point.

On the other hand, the cockpit and flight recorder have not been found, and no strong clues leading to the crew members have been obtained, so the Self-Defense Forces and the Japan Coast Guard are rushing to find them.

In addition, in this accident, security cameras installed in the northern part of Miyako Island and other places showed an aircraft that appeared to have disappeared.

The video was taken about 5 to 7 minutes after the helicopter took off, and according to analysis by video analysis experts, the aircraft was flying at an altitude of around 200 meters.

The helicopter communicated with the airport controller eight minutes after takeoff and disappeared two minutes later, and the Ground Self-Defense Force believes that trouble may have occurred during these two minutes and is investigating the cause.

Chief of Ground Staff "We will continue to search with all our might."

In response to the accident in which a Ground Self-Defense Force helicopter disappeared near Miyako Island in Okinawa Prefecture, Chief of the Ground Staff Yasuomi Morishita, the top member of the Ground Self-Defense Force, apologized again at a press conference on March 13, saying, "We are conducting all-out search and rescue operations, but we have not yet been able to rescue the members.

Regarding the cause of the accident, he said, "Although it is not possible to predict the cause of the accident, we can infer from the fact that many parts were scattered that it was not a normal flight and landing.

Regarding the impact of the disappearance of the division commander of the 8th Division, he said, "We recognize that the deputy division commander is in charge and there is no problem in crisis management."

Regarding the fact that the names and ranks of the members aboard the helicopter were not disclosed, he said, "We are currently conducting search activities, and we are refraining from disclosing the status of the missing members except for the division commander.

Chief of the Joint Staff "Underwater search takes a lot of time"

In response to the accident in which a Ground Self-Defense Force helicopter disappeared near Miyako Island in Okinawa Prefecture, Chief of Staff Keihide Yoshida, Chief of the Joint Staff of the Self-Defense Forces, said at a press conference on the 13th, "As the person in charge of search and rescue, I feel that the fact that we have not yet been able to find it after one week is itself frustrating, and I hope you will understand that underwater search will take a considerable amount of time."

"The situation of the division commanders of the 1th Division, which plays an important role in the Western Command, is not that there will be no impact on them. We recognize that we are continuing our mission with a firm complement to it."

Pilots have no problems with flight experience and the aircraft's service life is also within the range

The Ground Self-Defense Force has revealed that the helicopter pilot who disappeared in the accident has flown 3000,500 hours for the captain and 2600 hours for the co-captain. He said he had no problems with his flying experience.

It is also known that the aircraft in which the accident occurred has been flown about 6000,<> hours so far, but the service life is about <>,<> hours.