A UH-1Y Venom with Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 169 prepares to land at White Beach Naval Facility, Okinawa, April 11, 2025. (Zachary Guth/U.S. Navy)
The U.S. Marine Corps and Okinawa Defense Bureau are searching for a 40-pound bag of signal flares that fell from a helicopter over northern Okinawa this week.
A UH-1Y Venom with Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 169 on a routine training flight dropped the bag over Motobu Peninsula around 4 p.m. Tuesday, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing spokesman Joseph Butterfield said Wednesday.
No civilians were sighted in the area at the time and no injuries were reported, he said by email and a follow-up text message.
The bag is believed to have fallen somewhere between Nakijin village’s Wakugawa district and Nago city’s Goga district, a village spokeswoman said by phone Wednesday.
The bag contained signal flares and accessory gear for an onboard life raft, Butterfield said.
Marine and Japanese authorities searched the area Tuesday evening without finding the bag and continued the search Wednesday, he said.
Nakijin village, in the western part of Okinawa's Motobu peninsula, is seen from Arashiyama Observation Deck in Nago city, May 14, 2025. (Keishi Koja/Stars and Stripes)
The bag was inside the aircraft at the time, and the Marine Corps is investigating how it fell overboard, he added.
The Camp Pendleton, Calif.-based squadron has been attached to Marine Aircraft Group 36 at MCAS Futenma since last month under the Unit Deployment Program, Butterfield said.
The Venom utility helicopter, manufactured by Bell, performs close air support, search-and-rescue, casualty evacuation and combat-assault missions.
The Okinawa Defense Bureau, an arm of Japan’s Ministry of Defense, is assisting with the search, a spokesman said by phone Wednesday. Some Japanese government officials may speak to the press only on condition of anonymity.
“We take extensive precautions to ensure safe operations, including thorough pre-flight and post-flight checks, and by conducting the majority of our flights over water or away from populated areas,” Butterfield said.
“The safety of the local community is a top priority, and we are conducting a thorough review to determine the exact cause and implement any necessary measures to prevent a recurrence,” he added.
