WASHINGTON (AP) — Japan has grounded its fleet of V-22 Osprey aircraft again after an incident last Sunday where one of the hybrid helicopter-aircraft tilted unexpectedly and hit the ground while trying to take off.
The V-22 was taking part in the joint U.S. military exercise Keen Sword and carrying 16 passengers, including three U.S. service members. During takeoff it “became unstable as it swayed from side to side, and the left wing, the lower part of the aircraft came into contact with the ground and part of the aircraft was damaged, so the flight was aborted," Japan's Ground Self Defense Forces said in a statement.
It was the first major incident involving Japan's V-22 fleet since a U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command Osprey crash last November off the coast of Japan killed eight service members and led to a monthslong grounding of the entire fleet for both Japan and the U.S.
The aircraft resumed flight operations earlier this year, but the Osprey’s use remains controversial particularly in Okinawa, where residents have questioned its safety record.
The Osprey in last Sunday's incident was able to land and no one was injured, however Japan will keep its fleet of more than a dozen V-22s grounded while it investigates the incident, Defense Minister Gen Nakatani told reporters last week.
“We believe there is no safety problem with Ospreys, although ensuring flight safety is a prerequisite for aircraft operations,” Nakatani said.
The Pentagon's V-22 joint program office is supporting Japan's investigation into the incident, spokesman Neil Lobeda said Saturday.
The V-22 was operating on the Japanese island of Yonaguni during the joint exercise Keen Sword. Yonaguni is only 100 kilometers (62 miles) east of Taiwan.
Yamaguchi reported from Tokyo
FILE - U.S. MV-22 Osprey transport aircraft are parked at the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan, south of Okinawa, southern Japan, Sept. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae, File)
Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder speaks during a press briefing at the Pentagon on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024 in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)
LUANDA, Angola (AP) — President Joe Biden on Tuesday ducked questions on his decision to break his word and pardon his son Hunter, ignoring calls for him to explain his reversal as he was making his first presidential trip to Angola.
Dismissing shouted questions with a laugh during a meeting with Angolan President João Lourenço at the presidential palace, Biden said to the Angolan delegation “welcome to America.” Biden was not scheduled to take questions from the press during his trip to Africa, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Monday, and he has largely avoided any interaction with reporters since President-elect Donald Trump’s victory last month.
Biden’s decision to offer his son a blanket pardon for actions over the past 11 years has sparked a political uproar in Washington, after the president repeatedly told the public he would not use his extraordinary powers for the benefit of his family members. And Biden claimed that his own Justice Department had presided over a “miscarriage of justice” in prosecuting his son.
The reversal drew criticism from many Democrats, who are working to calibrate their approach to Trump as he prepares to take over the Oval Office in seven weeks, as they fear the pardon — and Biden's claims that his son was prosecuted for political reasons — will erode their ability to push back on the incoming president’s legal moves. And it threatened to cloud Biden's legacy as he prepares to leave office on Jan. 20.
In June, Biden told reporters as his son faced trial in a Delaware gun case, “I abide by the jury decision. I will do that and I will not pardon him.”
In July, Jean-Pierre told reporters: “It’s still a no. It will be a no. It is a no. And I don’t have anything else to add. Will he pardon his son? No.”
In November, days after Trump’s victory, Jean-Pierre reiterated that message: “Our answer stands, which is no.”
Long and Miller reported from Washington.
President Joe Biden and son Hunter Biden walk in downtown Nantucket Mass., Friday, Nov. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
President Joe Biden meets with Angola's President Joao Lourenco, at the presidential palace in the capital Luanda, Angola on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
