US Marines stationed in Okinawa, southern Japan, had to rescue one of their helicopters (a UH-1Y Venom) with an even bigger helicopter after the first one needed to make an emergency landing. None of the four crew members were injured in the event.
The 1st Marine Aircraft Wing announced that it made “preventive landing” on an Ikei Island beach just after 4 pm after a warning light came on indicating excessive speed from its main rotor.
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Marine 2nd Lieutenant Gregory Cronen said: "We are grateful that all crew members are unharmed, no one was hurt and no property was damaged.”
"We care deeply for the safety of both our pilots and crew in our aircraft as well as the communities around which we operate."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/USMC?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#USMC</a> helicopter emergency in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Okinawa?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Okinawa</a> AGAIN. Glad no one injured, but constant disasters - window falling from airborne USMC copter onto school playground (striking child), other falling parts, crashes, etc. - must stop! <br>Time for US Military to leave Okinawa! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NoNewBase?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NoNewBase</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Henoko?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Henoko</a> <a href="https://t.co/fqFQtfTVO7">https://t.co/fqFQtfTVO7</a></p>— Elli F (@ElliFtaka) <a href="https://twitter.com/ElliFtaka/status/949667911010082816?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 6, 2018</a></blockquote>
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The accident happened near the Okinawa US base which houses 26,000 US soldiers.
The base in Okinawa is highly controversial and has been faced with multiple protests in the past.
In 2016 a marine was accused of killing a local woman and the base imposed a midnight curfew and a ban on alcohol for 2 months.
In 2013, US troops all over Japan were placed under a night-time curfew after two US sailors pleaded guilty to the rape of a Japanese woman on Okinawa.
In 1995 when the rape of a 12-year-old girl on Okinawa by US servicemen prompted mass protests all over Japan.
Furthermore, the incident is also the latest in a string of recent US military aircraft mishaps which have led to safety concerns among the local Japanese population.
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Impressive video!!