An Osprey transport aircraft of Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force has suffered damage in a failed takeoff at the GSDF camp in Okinawa Prefecture.
The Defense Ministry says the tilt-rotor aircraft lost balance and swung from side to side when it attempted to take off from Camp Yonaguni on the westernmost Japanese island of Yonaguni at around 11:40 a.m. on Sunday.
The air outlet opening of the airplane’s left engine came into contact with the ground. It caused damage around the opening.
The ministry says 16 people, including GSDF personnel, were onboard the plane, but none of them was injured.
The Osprey was supposed to take off from the camp on a training mission to transport people with injuries as part of the joint field training exercise with US forces that began on Wednesday.
The Ground Self-Defense Force has grounded all of its 17 Osprey aircraft and set up an investigative panel to examine the damage and possible causes.
The force says it is believed to be the first time that an Osprey suffered damage since it began to introduce the transport plane in 2020.