Japan Press Weekly

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2017 August 16 - 22 [SDF]

SDF copters cause accidents in succession

A Maritime Self-Defense Force CH-101 helicopter caused a turnover accident around 2 p.m. on August 17 during its training exercise at the Iwakuni base in Yamaguchi, resulting in three injuries.

The base shares a runway with the civilian airport of Iwakuni Kintaikyo. According to All Nippon Airways (ANA), the accident would have no effect on commercial flights as the runway is a fair distance from the accident site.

About five hours after this incident, a Ground SDF antitank AH-1S helicopter force-landed at its Higashi-Fuji training ground in Shizuoka.

The GSDF explained that when the aircraft was hovering during nighttime firing drills, its flight altitude decreased for some reason. This emergency landing caused damage to the body of the aircraft and injured two personnel, said the GSDF.