CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — The Nago mayor filed a complaint Tuesday with the top U.S. military leader on the island, saying military police interfered with an investigation after a Cessna piloted by Americans made an emergency landing Friday night near a sugar cane field.
The small plane, which belongs to the Kadena Air Base Aero Club, struck electrical wires and was forced to land, according to police.
The pilot and another passenger were treated at a nearby hospital and released.
Okinawa police, who are calling the incident a "crash," said the plane was low on fuel. The 18th Wing said Tuesday the incident is still under investigation and "additional details will be provided as they become available."
Mayor Yoshikazu Shimabukuro said the letter to Lt. Gen. Richard C. Zilmer, Okinawa area coordinator and commander of Marine Corps Bases Japan, demanded that military officials release the cause of the accident and immediately suspend the flights of all Cessna aircraft belonging to the club, which serves as a flight training center.
According to the Aero Club’s Web site, pilots must have a recreational or private pilot certification and follow Federal Aviation Administration guidelines.
In an e-mail statement Tuesday to Stars and Stripes, the 18th Wing said "Aircraft assigned to Kadena Aero Club have been suspended to fly following Oct. 24."
Military officials did not say when the Cessnas could resume flying.
Okinawa government officials and police have said more cooperation from the military is needed.
Military investigators denied requests from Okinawa police to confiscate the Cessna as evidence and have not responded to requests to interview the four passengers, a spokesman for the Okinawa prefectural police said Tuesday.
Military investigators and Okinawa police conducted a joint investigation on-site Saturday. Following its investigation, military officials transported the aircraft to an undisclosed base, preventing Okinawa prefectural police from completing their investigation, Okinawa police said.
"Confiscating evidence is a normal procedure for investigations," an Okinawa prefectural police spokesman said. "It makes it hard to pursue the investigation without having the evidence in front of you."
Okinawa officials say the military’s handling of the accident is reminiscent of the 2004 U.S. Marine helicopter crash on the Okinawa International University campus. No one on the ground was killed or injured in the crash.
A military investigation of the crash caused controversy with local Okinawa officials, who were prohibited by the military from conducting an investigation. Following the 2004 incident, U.S. and Japanese officials agreed that should an accident involving military aircraft occur, Japanese authorities would control the outer perimeter of the crash site while U.S. military and Japanese agencies jointly control access and the inner periphery.
The status of forces agreement, however, stipulates the military has control of its property.
To ensure successful response efforts, U.S. military and Okinawa emergency responders have participated in several joint training exercises.
Friday’s incident was the first time the guidelines were applied, said Yuki Sakoda, director of the Crisis Management Office in Okinawa.
The incident generated a protest Monday. About 150 anti-military and peace activists gathered in front of Kadena Air Base’s Gate 1 to express dissatisfaction over the investigation.
"To the eye of Okinawa people, such an action is seen as nothing but an attempt by the military to conceal evidence," said Hiroji Yamashiro, director general of Okinawa Peace Activity Center. "This was exactly the same sense of humiliation we had experienced in 2004 when a helicopter crashed in Ginowan. The same thing happened again."
