US Osprey Aircraft Made Two Emergency Landings in 2 months in Japan

A U.S. Marine Corps Osprey has reportedly made two emergency landings in the past two months, the recent one made at Oita Airport on August 29.

Tuesday's incident at Oita Airport, which caused no injuries, is the latest in a series of emergency landings and crashes involving the aircraft in and outside Japan that have further stoked safety concerns.

The tilt-rotor aircraft is apparently the same one that touched down at a U.S. airfield on Ie Island, near Okinawa's main island, in June after a cockpit warning light came on, Kyodo News learned based on photos that showed the two Ospreys bearing the same aircraft number and unit name, The Mainichi reports.

Moreover, the same aircraft was spotted emitting white smoke while it was parked at the U.S. military's Iwakuni base in Yamaguchi Prefecture on August 28.

The Osprey involved in these problems belongs to the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture.