Osprey flights resumes in Okinawa

On Thursday, an Osprey transport aircraft has resumed flights at a US base in Japan’s Okinawa prefecture for the first time since they were grounded after a deadly crash last November. US forces and Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force grounded their fleet of Ospreys after one of the tilt-rotor aircraft crashed off the southwestern prefecture of Kagoshima, killing all eight US military personnel on board.

Japan’s Defense Ministry announced on Wednesday that the aircraft would resume flights in Japan in phases from Thursday, after maintenance and crew training are completed. The US 1st Marine Aircraft Wing announced that it had resumed flights of the MV-22 Osprey at Futenma.