The US Naval Air Systems Command has granted permission to fly the V-22 Osprey three months after the warplane was taken out of service following a fatal accident in Japan, the US military and Japan’s defence ministry said on Friday.
The timing of the V-22’s return to flying in Japan “continues to be closely coordinated” between the Japanese and US governments, the joint statement said.
Lieutenant General Tony Bauernfeind, commander of Air Force Special Operations Command, whose members were killed in the crash, said:
I have high confidence that the protocols we’re putting in place will avoid a catastrophic event like this happening again in the future.
Bauernfeind and other senior military officials told reporters this week that the November crash in Japan was caused by a “materiel failure” that they believe can be addressed with additional training and maintenance requirements.
No hardware changes are being made to the platform. But officials acknowledged they still don’t know why the failure occurred, including because the plane’s wreckage was submerged under water for a month after the crash, causing severe corrosion.
Officials declined to provide specifics about which components failed and how it would be fixed, citing safety concerns.
In addition to the disaster in Japan on 29 November last year, a V-22 went down in August 2023 during an exercise off the north coast of Australia, killing three marines.
