Marine AV-8 Harrier crashes off Okinawa; pilot ejects safely
By: Yuri Kageyama, The Associated Press, September 22, 2016 (Photo Credit: Ben Margot/AP)
TOKYO — A U.S. Marine Corps AV-8 Harrier fighter jet crashed Thursday into the ocean off the coast of southwestern Okinawa in Japan, but the pilot ejected safely from the aircraft and was rescued.
U.S. officials in Camp Butler in Okinawa said the cause of the crash is under investigation. The aircraft had been assigned to Okinawa, which hosts more than half of the 50,000 U.S. troops based in Japan under a bilateral security agreement.
Other details were not immediately available. The Japanese Coast Guard also confirmed the crash, which was about 95 miles east of the main Okinawan island. The coast guard initially received a request to help in the rescue, but it was withdrawn after a U.S. Air Force helicopter recovered the pilot, a coast guard official said.
https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/articles/marine-av-8-harrier-crashes-off-okinawa-pilot-ejects-safely
