TOKYO (Sputnik) — The Pentagon confirmed on Tuesday that three US Marines died over the weekend when their Boeing tiltrotor aircraft slammed into a US amphibious transport dock while attempting to land.
"The US Armed Forces have confirmed there were no mechanical, structural or system failures that could threaten the safety of MV-22 flights," the ministry said in a statement.
Japanese authorities on the islands of Hokkaido and Okinawa, which house US military bases, have been calling to ground all Osprey aircraft over safety concerns. The aircraft has been involved in a series of crashes since the US Marine Corps began using it in 2007.