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| V-22 Osprey Tilt-Rotor Aircraft |
TOKYO, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- Japan's Defense Ministry announced Thursday that the U.S. military will resume from Friday aerial refueling training for the contentious Osprey aircraft in Japan's Okinawa Prefecture.
The announcement came less than a month after one of the MV-22 Osprey aircraft deployed at the U.S. Futenma base in the city of Ginowan made a water crash-landing off Okinawa on Dec. 13, 2016, injuring two of the five crew members aboard.
The incident, according to the U.S. military, was caused by a damage to the aircraft's propeller in the process of aerial refueling training by a refueling plane.
Following the accident, Japan had asked the U.S. military to suspend its Osprey flights in Okinawa until the cause of the accident is known and safety is ensured.
The U.S. Military, however, resumed Osprey flights in Okinawa less than a week later, saying the accident was not caused by any problem with the aircraft itself, despite safety concerns and protests of the local people.
Read the full story at Xinhua