A U.S. Navy salvage team has arrived in Japan to assist in the recovery efforts of an Air Force CV-22B Osprey that crashed off the coast in late November, according to Air Force Special Operations Command.
The CV-22 assigned to the Air Force’s 353rd Special Operations Wing at Yokota Air Base, Japan, went down offshore of Yakushima Island on November 29 with eight crewmembers on board during a routine training mission. Following the mishap, the Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps grounded all V-22 variants amid the ongoing investigation into the fatal crash.
The ongoing search to recover the remains of a missing airman on board the aircraft at the time of the mishap remains a primary focus, according to military officials.
“Currently, seven of our eight airmen who were aboard have been recovered, and the primary combined Japan-U.S. effort is to locate and recover our eighth airman,” the Air Force said in a statement Tuesday.
The Navy salvage team is assigned to the USNS Salvor, a Safeguard-class rescue and salvage ship assigned to Commander Task Force 73. The team arrived near the crash site Saturday and will be operating alongside the Japan Coast Guard, Japan Self-Defense Forces, and other U.S. military units, as well as civilian volunteers to support the search, recovery, and salvage efforts, the Air Force said.
The circumstances of the mishap remain under investigation, the Air Force said.
