Researcher spots U.S. military helicopter landing on former NTA land in Ada, Kunigami Village
On the afternoon of September 4, a U.S. military helicopter lands on ground in Ada, Kunigami Village that was formerly the Northern Training Area. (Photograph courtesy of Akino Miyagi)
September 4, 2019 Ryukyu Shimpo
Around 3:00 p.m. on September 4 a U.S. Marine Corps UH-1Y helicopter was spotted taking off and landing on returned Northern Training Area (NTA) land in Ada, Kunigami Village.
The strip where it landed, called the LZ-FBJ helipad, was returned to Okinawa in December 2016 and is now included within the Yambaru National Park.
According to Akino Miyagi, a butterfly researcher who sighted the UH-1Y, the helicopter flew into the vicinity of the returned land around 2:30 p.m., and at around 3:00 p.m. it landed.
The helicopter remained on the land for tens of seconds and then it took off.
A U.S. soldier on the helicopter emerged from the side door as though to disembark, but ultimately did not, and the helicopter took off.
Miyagi said, “I thought it was something like an emergency landing, perhaps this time it was a landing during training. It’s irresponsible.”
(English translation by T&CT and Erin Jones)
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