A Marine F/A-18 Hornet and an MV-22B Osprey each made a "precautionary landing" Tuesday in separate incidents on mainland Japan and Okinawa, according to the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing.
The Hornet landed at Matsushima Airfield about 1:30 p.m. local time on Tuesday while conducting a regularly scheduled training flight along with two other aircraft, 1st MAW said in a statement to Marine Corps Times.
"After receiving a cockpit warning indication, the pilot acted in accordance with standard operating procedures to land the aircraft at Matsushima Airfield," the statement says. "There were no injuries or property damage as a result of the precautionary landing."
Meanwhile, the MV-22B Osprey landed Tuesday night at the U.S. training facilities at Ie Shima after the pilots received a cockpit warning indication, the wing said. Once again, there were no injuries as a result of the landing. The Osprey remained at Ie Shima overnight as personnel conducted routine maintenance on the aircraft, according to the wing. It returned to Marine Corps Air Station Futenma on Wednesday.
Ospreys have been deployed to Okinawa since 2012. The first major Osprey incident there happened on Dec. 13, when an MV-22B from Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 265 crashed after its rotor struck a refueling line. That same day, an Osprey from Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 262 had to make an emergency landing on reinforced pads when its landing gear failed.
In the complicated world of Okinawa politics, Ospreys have become a symbol of the U.S. military's presence, with local Okinawans who want all U.S. troops to leave the island claiming that the Ospreys are unsafe.
Jeffrey Hornung, a Japan expert now with the RAND Corporation, recalled one time when he saw a sign from the Kadena mayor's office that symbolized this sentiment.
"On one side of the sign it said 'No Osprey.'" Hornung told reporters in December. "On the other side of the sign, it said … 'Opposition to the bases.'"
