Marine Corps photograph by Cpl. Jorge A. RosalesA Marine Corps MV-22B Osprey takes flight after a static display presented by Marines of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit to South Korean marines and sailors at Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan, Nov. 30, 2016. An Osprey with five crew members aboard landed in shallow water off the coast of Okinawa, Dec.12, 2016. All five were rescued.
A Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey aircraft with five crew members aboard landed in shallow water off the coastline of Camp Schwab Marine Corps Base in Okinawa, Japan, Dec. 12 shortly before 10 p.m. Japan time, Pentagon press operations director Navy Capt. Jeff Davis said Dec. 13.
Davis told reporters an Air Force HH-60G Pave Hawk combat rescue helicopter from the 33rd Rescue Squadron at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa airlifted the five crew members and transported them to Okinawa Naval Hospital at Camp Foster, where they are being treated for injuries.
The cause of the incident is not yet known, but Davis said a formal investigation will follow.
“[There] is obviously an important military capability that the Osprey provides,” he said. “It contributes to the security of Japan and the region. We will absolutely get to the bottom of the cause of it and ensure we learn from it so it doesn’t happen again. That’s what we do.”
