Two Missing As Japanese Fighter Jet Crashes

The Japanese government has on Tuesday expressed concern over an aircraft that is believed to have disappeared a few moments after take off.

Reports had it that the jet which was on a training mission, disappeared from radar shortly after it took off late Monday afternoon.

Speaking on the development the government’s spokesman, Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters that a search is ongoing for two crew members who also went missing with the F-15 jet.

Though a part of the jet was subsequently found, authorities are, however, still searching for the two people on board, Naija News understands.

Matsuno disclosed further that the jet was last seen about five kilometres (three miles) west-northwest of the Komatsu airbase in the central Ishikawa region, off the Sea of Japan.

“As part of the fuselage of the fighter jet was discovered in the area, the fighter jet is believed to have crashed,” the government official said.

Matsuno added that “all efforts” were being made to locate the missing crew members, with Self-Defense Force aircraft and vessels, as well as coastguard patrol boats, searching the area.”

Naija News understands that no explanation for the crash has been given yet and the defence ministry has not sought to ground F-15s in the wake of the incident.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Oludayo Amao has hailed the government of President Muhammadu Buhari for providing the Nigeria Air Force with new aircraft to tackle insecurity challenges.
The Air Force chief noted that NAF was in a pitiable state prior to the coming on board of the incumbent government.

Naija News reports that Amao boasted that the force has now a total of 38 new aircraft inducted into its inventory. According to him, the latest addition to the fleet included the 12 A-29 Super Tucano aircraft recently acquired by the government.

Amao said while some of the aircraft had been deployed to tackle insecurity in some parts of the country, the others were being used to upscale its pilots’ training.

He also disclosed that 173 pilots have been trained in the last six years with additional 155 student pilots undergoing training.