Japan: Aircraft Collision

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BBC

Monday, 13 November, 2000, 03:11 GMT US aircraft collide off Japan

Both aircraft were F-16s By Charles Scanlon in Tokyo

Two American fighter aircraft have collided in mid-air off the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido.

Japanese coast guard vessels and helicopters were sent to the scene and rescued one of the pilots.

The two American F-16 fighters were taking part in a military exercise.

The two pilots ejected from their aircraft and parachuted into the sea.

Japanese coastguard boats recovered one of the pilots, but the other is still missing.

The aircraft was stationed at an American airbase in Northern Japan and were taking part in a joint military exercise with Japanese forces.

The drills are being conducted under new security guidelines, under which Japan's self-defence forces can give direct support to the American military for the first time.

-- Rachel Gibson (rgibson@hotmail.com), November 12, 2000

Answers

yahoo

Sunday November 12 10:49 PM ET Pilot Missing, 1 Rescued As U.S. Jets Crash in Japan

TOKYO (Reuters) - One American pilot was rescued and another missing after two U.S. F-16 fighter jets collided in mid-air over the Sea of Japan on Monday, a Japanese Defense Agency spokesman said.

Japanese and U.S. forces were continuing to search for the other pilot, the spokesman said, adding that both pilots had ejected from their aircraft.

``One of the two pilots was rescued and we can confirm he is safe,'' he said.

The Japanese coastguard said it had sent three patrol boats and three aircraft to the scene, about 438 miles north of Tokyo.

The collision took place during joint military exercises between Japan and the United States which began on November 2, their first exercises in line with the adoption of new security arrangements last year.

Over 21,000 military personnel and 310 jet aircraft are participating in the 17 days of drills at facilities run by Japan's Self-Defense Forces, and in Japanese territorial waters and airspace.

New defense guidelines drawn up by the two countries in August 1999 authorize Japan to provide logistical support to the U.S. military in the event of an emergency in the region.

Some neighboring countries, including China, have opposed the guidelines, saying they are intended to protect Taiwan, which Beijing views as a renegade province.

North Korea (news - web sites) on Sunday slammed the joint military drills, labeling them an ``open provocation and grave challenge'' to communist Pyongyang.

Japan's war-renouncing constitution means that any expansion of the military's role is controversial, both at home and among Japan's Asian neighbors.

There are about 48,000 U.S. military personnel stationed in Japan, out of which about 26,000 are based on the small southern island of Okinawa.

-- Rachel Gibson (rgibson@hotmail.com), November 12, 2000.


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