Seven months after the fatal accident, the Air Force resumes Osprey flights in Tokyo

A CV-22B Osprey from the Air Force’s 21st Special Operations Squadron takes off from Yokota Air Base, Japan, on July 2, 2024, for the first time since November 2023. (Samantha White/US Air Force)

YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan – CV-22 Osprey aircraft resumed operations Tuesday from this air transport hub in western Tokyo, 216 days after eight pilots were killed in a crash off Japan’s southern coast.

The resumption of flight operations of the 21st Special Operations Squadron aircraft was announced by the 374th Airlift Wing in a press release on the same day.

The wing did not provide any information on what type of flight operations the aircraft were conducting or how many Ospreys were flown Tuesday.

The U.S. military grounded its fleet of about 400 Ospreys – tilt-rotor aircraft that fly like airplanes but take off and land like helicopters – between Dec. 6 and March 8 while it investigated the Nov. 29 crash of a Yokota-based special operations Osprey in southern Japan.

The Marine Corps and Navy’s Ospreys have been in service for months, but the fleet won’t be allowed to fly its full range of missions until mid-2025, the aircraft program’s chief told House lawmakers last month. The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force also resumed flights of its Osprey fleet in the spring.

The Marine Corps and U.S. Navy described the resumption of flight operations of their Ospreys as a phased approach; the Air Force did the same.

“We remain committed to the safety of the men and women who fly our aircraft and the safety of our community both on base and in Japan,” said Lt. Col. Matthew Davis, commander of the 21^st Special Operations Squadron, the press release states.

A Yokota representative did not respond to a request for further information or an interview with Davis.

A crew chief directs an Air Force CV-22B Osprey after returning from a flight at Yokota Air Base, Japan, July 2, 2024. (Samantha White/US Air Force)

In the run-up to the resumption of flight operations, some residents of Fussa, the densely populated urban community outside Yokota’s main gate, expressed concern, a spokesman for the city’s base affairs department told Stars and Stripes in May.

“We are concerned about safety as there are no adequate explanations about the cause of the accident and the measures to be taken,” he said at the time.

However, Davis stated in the press release that security measures were being taken seriously.

“We would not fly this aircraft if we did not have complete confidence in the measures, the maintenance professionals who implement them and the professionals who fly it,” he said.

Air Force Special Operations Command implemented a multi-phased approach to ensure flight crews, maintenance personnel and aircraft were ready to resume flight operations.

The decision to return the V-22 Osprey to flight operations was based on a careful and data-driven approach, the press release states.

“The CV-22 community continues to ensure that it maintains the highest operational standards for both flight crew and support personnel,” it says.

During the groundings and in preparation for the resumption of flight operations, the squadron said pilots maintained their proficiency through rigorous simulator training, focusing on both routine procedures and emergency scenarios.

They were also trained in the latest technical updates, maintenance practices and safety protocols related to the CV-22, the press release said.

“This training ensures that all personnel remain competent, prepared and confident when they return to the air,” it says.