US Plane Crashes Off Coast of Japan

A rescue mission is underway after a U.S. Navy plane crashed with eleven people on board. The C2A transport went down in the ocean south of Japan.

Eight crew members have been found so far and are in good condition. 

The C2 crashed while returning to the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan Wednesday afternoon, as U.S. and Japanese forces took part in naval exercises. 

The plane crashed into the Philippine Sea southeast of Okinawa, one of the southernmost parts of Japan.

Japan’s defense ministry says an engine malfunction in the C2 cargo plane seems to be the cause.

Last week, we were on the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan as it was engaged in a rare military exercise near the Korean peninsula involving three U.S. aircraft carriers. We flew on and off the ship in a C2 cargo plane, and are required to wear a life preserver around your neck while on the plane. That could be why they were able to find these eight people so quickly.

This has been a deadly year for the us 7th fleet. In two other incidents earlier this year, 17 members of the navy were killed.