Japan Navy helicopters’ deadly crash brought on by insufficient directions to crew, says probe report
TOKYO (AP) — Lack of directions to the crew and their failure to maintain a lookout and talk led two Japanese navy helicopters to collide throughout coaching, killing all eight individuals on board, a Japanese navy report stated Tuesday.
The 2 SH-60K reconnaissance helicopters from the Maritime Self-Protection Power crashed in April throughout nighttime anti-submarine coaching close to Torishima island, about 600 kilometers (370 miles) south of Tokyo whereas flying to the identical mock goal to detect a submarine.
Simply earlier than the collision, the 2 helicopters — whereas flying at completely different places — headed to the identical goal based mostly on a state of affairs of a submarine being detected, in line with the Maritime Workers Workplace investigation report. They had been beneath the management of two separate ship-based officers who had been giving directions to the 2 plane, the report added.
The absence of collision avoidance maneuvers on both aspect signifies each helicopters miscalculated the space between them, the report stated. Then the nostril of the helicopter flying straight forward collided with the left aspect of the opposite one which was turning clockwise on the identical altitude, the report stated.
It famous that crewmembers did not maintain an enough lookout or share info, whereas their two commanding officers had been additionally not speaking with their crew or giving applicable directions to every helicopter, as an example, to fly at completely different altitudes.
Within the report, the MSO stated it’s essential to make sure enough lookout by crewmembers, upgrading of kit similar to putting in a proximity warning system, and requirement of enough communication between officers in cost.
“We take severely the investigation outcomes of the accident that took eight individuals’s lives and do every thing we are able to to take preventive steps, with a willpower to not have any extra casualty,” Protection Minister Minoru Kihara advised a information convention.
Kihara stated flight coaching involving a number of SH-60Ks was to renew on Tuesday. The helicopter coaching had been restricted to solo flights for the reason that crash.
The crash got here as Japan, beneath its 2022 security strategy, determined to speed up its navy buildup and fortify its defenses on southwestern Japanese islands to counter China’s more and more assertive navy exercise.
Tokyo has quickly expanded naval workouts and joint drills with the United States and other partners in recent times.
The dual-engine, multi-mission helicopters developed by Sikorsky and referred to as Seahawks had been modified and produced in Japan by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. The report stated there was no mechanical problem concerned within the accident. Japan has about 70 of them.
