Flight Recorder Of Crashed Japanese Blackhawk Recovered
Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force has recovered the flight recorder of a UH-60JA that crashed with 10 people on board on April 6th in waters south of Okinawa.
The flight recorder and a large part of the Blackhawk’s wreckage was recovered by a civilian salvage ship shortly before noon on May 2. The wreckage, which included the helicopter’s cockpit, fuselage, tail and external fuel tanks, was recovered from a depth of 106 meters, 6 kilometers north of Irabu Island.
According to the JGSDF, no human remains were found within the wreckage. The wreckage is to be taken to JGSDF Vice-Camp Takayubaru in Kumamoto Prefecture, the home base of the 8th Rapid Deployment Division’s 8th Aviation Squadron that operated the helicopter, as part of the investigation into the crash. The flight recorder will be taken to a separate location for data recovery and analysis.
Salvage ships had arrived at the site of the wreckage on April 28 to begin preparations for wreckage recovery with remotely operated vehicles, but high seas delayed the start of recovery operations to May 1.
Six of the ten JGSDF personnel on board at the time of the crash have been confirmed as deceased following the recovery of their remains, including Lt. Gen. Yuichi Sakamoto, who had been appointed as the commander of the 8th Division a week prior to the crash. Search and recovery efforts for the remaining four missing personnel remain underway, with the remains of the sixth soldier killed in the crash recovered on May 1.
Maj. Gen. Shinichi Aoki was appointed as the new commander of the 8th Division on April 21, replacing Lt. Gen. Sakamoto. Prior to the appointment, Maj. Gen. Aoki was the commander of the JGSDF’s 11th Brigade, based in Sapporo in northern Japan. Before commanding the 11th Brigade, Maj. Gen. Aoki’s previous postings included serving as the Deputy Chief of Staff for the JGSDF’s Western Army, and as the first commanding officer of the JGSDF’s Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade.