TOKYO, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- A U.S. Marine Corps Osprey aircraft that made an emergency landing at a commercial airport in southwestern Japan may have done so due to an instrument malfunction, Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera said Wednesday.
Onodera's remarks came despite local media reporting that the plane's crew notified air traffic controllers of its need to make an emergency landing due to engine trouble.
The controversial Osprey, known for its checkered safety history, is reportedly the same aircraft that was forced to make an emergency landing near Okinawa's main island in June under potentially similar circumstances.
Onodera, conceding that the tilt-rotor airplanes are continuing to have accidents, called for tighter safety measures to be implemented.
"Accidents involving Ospreys are continuing to happen, so I want safety to be ensured when operating them," the defense minister told a press briefing on the matter.
Japan's top government spokesperson, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, also expressed his concerns over the safety of the turboprop planes that can take off and land like a helicopter and fly like a fix-winged aircraft.
Suga told a press briefing that the government has requested further information on the incident and for thorough safety management regarding the planes.
The military plane landed at Oita Airport at around 6:30 p.m. local time on Tuesday after leaving the Marine Corps Air Station in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan.
The defense ministry said the plane was headed to its base at the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa when it made the emergency landing.
While the U.S. Marines said in a statement that the pilot of the Osprey landed at the nearest airport after a warning light went on in the cockpit, and that the landing was a normal, preventative measure, local media reported that smoke and fire could be seen emerging from the plane.
According to Japan's Kyodo News, the crew aboard the airplane contacted air traffic controllers due to engine trouble and said they needed to make an emergency landing.
While no body aboard was injured and commercial flights were only delayed for 20 minutes, smoke and fire were seen momentarily emerging from the aircraft, Kyodo News reported.
The latest incident involving an Osprey follows the fatal crash of one of the planes in waters off Australia that killed three Marines on Aug. 5, prompting the central government here to request the U.S. military ground the planes to further investigate their safety.
Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force is planning to acquire 17 Ospreys to be deployed at Saga airport in southwestern Japan.
