Japan finds body of missing F-15 crewman

Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force F-15 jet fighter takes off at Nyutabal air base in Shintomi town, Miyazaki Prefecture, 17 November 2004 as part of an usual air patrol. AFP PHOTO/Kazuhiro NOGI (Photo by KAZUHIRO NOGI / AFP)

TOKYO — Japan’s airforce said Sunday that it had recovered the body of one of two crewmen of a fighter jet that went missing two weeks ago.

The F-15 fighter jet was on a training mission on January 31 when it disappeared from radar shortly after taking off from Komatsu airbase in the central Ishikawa region, sparking a search for its missing crew.

The airforce said a body was found on Friday by the navy during search operations in the Sea of Japan.

The military said it has confirmed the identity of the body, but did not release the name and added that the search for his co-pilot continued.

Exactly why and how their plane crashed has not been made clear, but the defense ministry has not sought to ground F-15s in the wake of the incident.

Japan has occasionally seen accidents involving its airforce.

In 2019 an F-35A stealth jet crashed into the sea after the pilot suffered spatial disorientation, sparking a scramble to recover the body and sensitive military equipment onboard the plane.