The military aircraft, believed to be a AV8B Harrier II jet, reportedly crashed after taking off from a major Air Force base on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa.
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Japanese authorities have dispatched the coastguard, with a helicopter and patrol boat hunting the downed jet.
A fighter jet belonging to the US military crashed off Japan’s Okinawa island, where the military has bases, Japanese media reported Thursday. The Japanese Coast Guard also confirmed the crash, which happened 150km east of Cape Hedo located at the north end of the southern island prefecture, reported Kyodo news agency.
The pilot was rescued by the 33rd Rescue Squadron from the Air Force’s 18th Wing out of Kadena Air Base, the statement said.
A member of aircraft’s crew has been rescued, coast guard officials said.
The Japanese coast guard is searching for the site of the crash and the United States military is investigating the cause. The aircraft involved was an AV-8 Harrier pilot. The US bases are a source of tension with the island’s residents, largely due to their cost and safety concerns.
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The bases have always been blamed for noise and air pollution, while many locals also see them as an uneasy legacy of post-WWII American military occupation.
