Deadly Hawaii Osprey Crash Renews Safety Fears In Japan

TOKYO (AP) — A fatal crash of a U.S. Marine Corps aircraft in Hawaii has renewed safety concerns in Japan, where more of the Ospreys will be deployed.

Gov. Takeshi Onaga on the southern island of Okinawa says flights of the hybrid aircraft should be suspended until the cause of the crash is found. A tilt-rotor MV-22 Osprey caught fire after a hard landing on Sunday, killing one Marine and injuring 21 others at Bellows Air Force Station on Hawaii's main island of Oahu.

The U.S. operates 24 Ospreys on Okinawa and announced a week ago that 10 more would be deployed to a base near Tokyo beginning in 2017.

The U.S. military says the Osprey is safe but Okinawans have worried the aircraft may be prone to crashes.

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