Sharjah24 – Reuters: A missing Japanese F-15 frontline fighter is believed to have crashed and its two crew members remain unaccounted for, Japan said on Tuesday (February 1).
The Japan Air Self-Defence Force jet disappeared from air traffic control radar on Monday (January 31) shortly after take-off, around 5 kilometres (3 miles) from Komatsu air base on the Sea of Japan coast, which has two tactical fighter squadrons, according to the defence ministry.
Speaking to reporters, Defence Minister Nobuo Kishi dismissed an early media report that one of the pilots had been found.
Search and rescue helicopters and three coast guard ships continued their search after earlier finding aircraft debris in the sea, the Japan Coast Guard said in a press release.