Air force starts emergency inspections on nearly 200 military training planes after crash

A member of Japan’s Self-Defense Forces hold objects believed to be debris from an Air Self-Defense Force trainer jet

Japan’s air force has begun emergency safety inspections on all of its nearly 200 military training aircraft after one of the planes crashed minutes after takeoff, officials said yesterday.

The T-4 training aircraft, operated by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, or JASDF, and carrying two service members, crashed into a reservoir Wednesday, minutes after taking off from Komaki Air Base in the central Japanese prefecture of Aichi.

While the search operation for the missing aircraft and the two crew members continued yesterday, the military announced that it had started emergency inspections on all remaining 196 of the training planes deployed at JASDF bases across the country.

Their operation has been suspended since the crash and they will remain grounded until the cause is identified and safety checks are completed, Hiroaki Uchikura, the air force chief of staff, told reporters on Wednesday.

The crash is the latest in a series of defense aircraft accidents in recent years and comes at a time when Japan is accelerating a military buildup to deter China’s influence in the region and double its defense spending, raising concern that funding for weapons may be prioritized over safety measures.

The crashed plane was a 36-year-old T-4 operated out of Nyutabaru Air Base, in the southern prefecture of Miyazaki. It wasn’t fitted with a voice recorder or a flight data recorder, a setback for the investigation.

Defense Minister Gen Nakatani yesterday announced plans to promptly fit the training aircraft with voice and flight data recording equipment.

The JASDF said the plane experienced trouble when it reached an altitude of 4,000 feet (1,200 meters) about one minute after takeoff. Kyodo News agency said that air traffic control didn’t receive any contact from the T-4 aircraft about an emergency.

The force said the plane was lost from radar two minutes after departure and crashed into a reservoir called the Iruka pond, about 10 kilometers (6 miles) northeast of the air base.

Witnesses told the NHK national broadcaster that they heard a loud noise like thunder at the time of the crash.

Debris believed to be of the aircraft, as well as lifesaving equipment and helmets of the crew were found near the reservoir. MDT/AP