The 29th marks two months since last November, when a US Air Force Osprey transport plane crashed off the coast of Yakushima, Kagoshima Prefecture. At the time, the Osprey, which attempted an emergency landing at Yakushima Airport, was asked to "stand by" because a civilian plane was using the runway, and it appears that it crashed just before landing after circling in the sky.The details of the flight are unclear. This was revealed through interviews with related parties.
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Detailed flight details leading up to Osprey crash revealed
“Restrictions” on remote island airports also increase military aircraft arrivals
Hiroyuki Kobayashi is a former Japan Airlines captain and aviation critic.
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table of contents
table of contents
Detailed flight details leading up to Osprey crash revealed
“Restrictions” on remote island airports also increase military aircraft arrivals
Hiroyuki Kobayashi is a former Japan Airlines captain and aviation critic.
Detailed flight details leading up to Osprey crash revealed
On November 29, last year, a U.S. Air Force Osprey transport plane belonging to Yokota Air Base in Tokyo crashed in the sea southeast of Yakushima Airport in Kagoshima Prefecture, killing all eight people on board.
Regarding this accident, the detailed flight circumstances leading up to the Osprey's crash have been revealed through interviews with multiple parties involved and testimony from witnesses.
According to the report, the Osprey was
flying over the north coast of Yakushima Airport from around 2:35 p.m. to around 2:36 p.m., about five minutes before the crash, and made a radio call to the air traffic control and flight information officer at Kagoshima Airport, which has jurisdiction over this area. I informed them of the emergency situation and asked them to land at Yakushima Airport.
▽However, at the time, the runway at Yakushima Airport was being used by commercial planes for takeoff, and it was learned that the flight information officer had asked the Osprey to "stay in the sky."
▽The Osprey then circled over the coast northeast of the airport, and
▽After the commercial plane took off, it flew close to its final approach path to land from the southeast side of the runway at around 2:40 p.m., but shortly after that. It is said that it crashed offshore.
According to officials, these circumstances suggest that the Osprey was able to maintain some control over the aircraft for a while after reporting the emergency situation, and then it may have fallen into a serious situation within a short period of time and crashed. That's it.
Regarding this accident, the US military is proceeding with an investigation to determine the cause of the accident, recovering the wreckage of the aircraft and the flight recorder.
“Restrictions” on remote island airports also increase military aircraft arrivals
As with Yakushima Airport, there are restrictions on air traffic control on remote islands, and in recent years there has been an increase in military aircraft flights and emergency landings at and around airports in the Nansei Islands.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, at airports with relatively low traffic volume, such as on remote islands or in remote areas, air traffic control and flight information officers located at another airport provide information necessary for takeoff and landing to pilots via wireless communication, instead of having air traffic controllers on site. There are some places that offer it.
As of April last year, there were a total of 38 airports operating in this manner across the country, including Hokkaido, the Tohoku region, the islands of Tokyo, and the Nansei Islands.
Yakushima Airport is one of them, and regular commercial flights take off and land about 10 times a day, about once or twice an hour, and Kagoshima Airport's air traffic control and flight information officer remotely communicates with the aircraft. We are providing information.
In addition, unlike air traffic controllers, flight information officers do not issue permission for takeoffs, landings, or runway approaches; their job is to provide information and support flight operations; It is up to the pilot himself to make the decision.
Flights and emergency landings of Self-Defense Forces and US military aircraft are increasing at airports in the Nansei Islands, etc.
While there are constraints on air traffic control operations, in recent years there has been an increase in training by the Self-Defense Forces and the U.S. military in the Nansei Islands. The number of cases where airports are used temporarily is increasing.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, since the year before yesterday, Self-Defense Force aircraft have landed 515 times at airports in the Nansei Islands where Self-Defense Force aircraft are not permanently stationed, and U.S. military aircraft have landed 50 times at Amami Airport and 49 times at Tanegashima Airport. The number of landings has increased to 121, an increase of approximately three times in five years, and many of these landings take place at airports without air traffic controllers.
Hiroyuki Kobayashi is a former Japan Airlines captain and aviation critic.
We asked Hiroyuki Kobayashi, a former Japan Airlines captain and aviation critic, about the circumstances of the flight that were recently revealed.
First, regarding the flight situation of the Osprey, he said, ``Based on the trajectory, I think it can be said that it was under the control of the pilot until it almost crashed. It can be assumed that the trouble worsened rapidly after entering the final approach, causing the aircraft to become uncontrollable and crash."
Regarding the fact that when the Osprey reported the emergency situation, another commercial aircraft was using the runway at Yakushima Airport and was asked to wait in the sky. ``The general rule at any airport is that other planes should wait before taking off or landing, as we give top priority to other planes.'' In this case, there were no air traffic controllers at Yakushima Airport. It is pointed out that the lack of a ``parallel taxiway'' that runs parallel to the runway and allows for quick departure from the runway may have been a contributing factor.
Kobayashi said, ``If air traffic controllers had been stationed and could visually assess the situation, we might have been able to respond a little more quickly.Also, if there had been a parallel taxiway, we could have said, ``There's an emergency plane.'' I could have told them, ``Please come out onto the taxiway.'' However, there are no air traffic controllers at Yakushima Airport, and there is no parallel taxiway, so once the takeoff aircraft enters the runway, the Osprey will remain in the air until it takes off. I guess we had no choice but to wait.''
Regarding the fact that this accident occurred near an airport on such a remote island, he said, ``Given the international situation surrounding Japan, it is likely that many military aircraft and Self-Defense Force aircraft will be deployed to the Nansei Islands in the future, and an accident like this one is likely to continue.'' In addition, although this incident involved a U.S. military aircraft, the same thing can happen to civilian aircraft as well, so we should learn from this accident and think about the safety and staffing of airports on remote islands. Isn't there a need for that?'' he said.