U.S. F-15 Fighter Crashes in Okinawa
BFN  [Text] Tokyo -- An F-15 fighter of the U.S. Forces on Okinawa crashed near Kadena Air Base on 4 April. Commenting on the crash, Akira Takeshita, deputy director general of the Defense Facilities Administration Agency [DFAA], said, "Such a crash should not have occurred and it is very regrettable that the crash actually occurred." He also made it clear that shortly after the crash, the DFAA asked the command of the U.S. Forces in Japan [USFJ] to take thorough measures for safe management of the U.S. military bases on Okinawa and conduct a thorough investigation into the cause of the crash. The Kadena Air Base public affairs office gave a briefing on the crash and the DFAA released the briefing. The briefing said: An F-15 fighter taking off from Kadena Air Base on a routine training crashed near the air base at 0924 on 4 April. The crashed aircraft belonged to the 44th Fighter Squadron of the 18th Wing and the pilot safely ejected from the aircraft without injuries. A team will begin investigating the cause of the crash and details of the accident will be made public once the investigation is completed. The U.S. military aircraft crashed about 800 meters northeast of a Kadena Air Base runway and the crash site is within the air base's facilities. Mr. Takeshita said: "As for the safe management of the U.S. military bases on Okinawa, we have long asked the U.S. side for it. The DFAA immediately expressed regret to the command of the U.S. Forces in Yokota over the crash and the Naha DFAA Bureau expressed regret to the commander of the U.S. Forces on Okinawa. We will continue to ask them to work for the safe management of the U.S. military bases in Japan."
investigation;crash;u.s. military bases;okinawa;f-15 fighter;routine training;u.s. forces