Two US warplanes crash off the coast of Japan with one rescued and six missing

Two crew members have been rescued from the Marine refueling plane and a fighter jet that crashed into the Pacific Ocean off Japan’s southwestern coast after a midair collision early Thursday.

Officials said search and rescue operations were ongoing for the five others.

The U.S. Marine Corps said that the 2am crash involved an F/A-18 fighter jet and a KC-130 refueling aircraft during regular training after the planes took off from their base in Iwakuni, near Hiroshima in western Japan.

The crash took place 200 miles off the coast.

Japan’s Defense Ministry said the aircraft carrying seven crew members in total collided and crashed into the sea south of the Muroto Cape on Shikoku island in southwestern Japan.

The Maritime Self-Defense Force, which dispatched aircraft and vessels to join in the search operation, said Japanese rescuers found one of the crew members in stable condition.   

The Marine Corps later said another crew member has been rescued and is being transported to hospital for evaluation. 

Japanese officials said two crew members were in the F/A-18, and five others in the KC-130.

The crash – the cause of which is under investigation – is the latest in recent series of accidents involving the U.S. military deployed to and near Japan.

Last month, a U.S. Navy F/A-18 Hornet from the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan crashed into the sea southwest of Japan’s southern island of Okinawa, though its two pilots were rescued safely. 

Rescuers found one of the seven crew members in stable condition while searching for the others, officials said 

A rescue aircraft plucked the aviators from the water immediately and brought them back to the ship, the Navy’s statement said. They were both in good condition and the aircraft carrier has since returned to normal operations, the Navy said.

In mid-October, a MH-60 Seahawk also belonging to the Ronald Reagan crashed off the Philippine Sea shortly after takeoff, causing non-fatal injuries to a dozen sailors.  

The aircraft carrier participated in a joint exercise known as ‘Keen Sword’ with Japan and Canada from October 29 to November 8 in waters around Japan and near Guam in the Pacific.

More than 50,000 U.S. troops are based in Japan under the bilateral security pact.

This comes a month after an F/A-18E Super Hornet crashed after taking off from the flight deck of USS Ronald Reagan [file photo]