Faulty indicator prompts precautionary Osprey landing at Japanese airfield

YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — A malfunctioning indicator prompted a U.S. Air Force CV-22 aircraft to make a precautionary landing in Tochigi prefecture on Monday, according to American and Japanese officials.

The Osprey landed at Utsunomiya Airfield, Yokota spokesman Capt. Steve Garrett said by email Wednesday.

Yokota, in western Tokyo, is home to tiltrotors of the 21st Special Operations Squadron, known as the “Dust Devils.”

Utsunomiya Airfield, 60 miles northeast of Yokota, is on Camp Kita-Utsunomiya, a Japan Ground Self-Defense Force base.

The Osprey landed around 3 p.m., Garrett said.

“The landing was executed safely and in accordance with policies,” he said.

A post-landing inspection identified a faulty cockpit indicator as the cause, Garrett said.

“Following the assessment, the indication system was replaced and the aircraft safely returned to Yokota Air Base,” he said.

No injuries or damage to the aircraft occurred and airfield operations were not interrupted, he said.

The aircraft departed Utsunomiya on Tuesday, an official at the North Kanto Defense Bureau’s administration department said Wednesday by phone.

Japan’s Ministry of Defense informed local authorities on Monday after the landing, the official said.

An Air Force Osprey made a precautionary landing May 6 at Naval Air Facility Atsugi, 23 miles southeast of Yokota, also due to false cockpit indication, a spokesman for the 353rd Special Operations Wing, Capt. Cullen Drenkhahn, said at the time.