Japan has grounded its V-22 Osprey fleet again after flight incident

WASHINGTON (AP) — Japan has grounded its fleet of V-22 Osprey aircraft again after an incident last Sunday where one of the hybrid helicopter-aircraft tilted unexpectedly and hit the ground while trying to take off.

The V-22 was taking part in the joint U.S. military exercise Keen Sword and carrying 16 passengers, including three U.S. service members. During takeoff it “became unstable as it swayed from side to side, and the left wing, the lower part of the aircraft came into contact with the ground and part of the aircraft was damaged, so the flight was aborted," Japan's Ground Self Defense Forces said in a statement.

It was the first major incident involving Japan's V-22 fleet since a U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command Osprey crash last November off the coast of Japan killed eight service members and led to a monthslong grounding of the entire fleet for both Japan and the U.S.

The aircraft resumed flight operations earlier this year, but the Osprey’s use remains controversial particularly in Okinawa, where residents have questioned its safety record.

The Osprey in last Sunday's incident was able to land and no one was injured, however Japan will keep its fleet of more than a dozen V-22s grounded while it investigates the incident, Defense Minister Gen Nakatani told reporters last week.

“We believe there is no safety problem with Ospreys, although ensuring flight safety is a prerequisite for aircraft operations,” Nakatani said.

The Pentagon's V-22 joint program office is supporting Japan's investigation into the incident, spokesman Neil Lobeda said Saturday.

The V-22 was operating on the Japanese island of Yonaguni during the joint exercise Keen Sword. Yonaguni is only 100 kilometers (62 miles) east of Taiwan.

Yamaguchi reported from Tokyo

FILE - U.S. MV-22 Osprey transport aircraft are parked at the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan, south of Okinawa, southern Japan, Sept. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae, File)

Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder speaks during a press briefing at the Pentagon on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024 in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s central bank lowered its key interest rate by 2.5 percentage points to 47.5% on Thursday, carrying out its first rate cut in nearly two years as it tries to control soaring inflation.

Citing slowing inflation, the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee said it was reducing its one-week repo rate to 47.5% from the current 50%.

The committee said in a statement that the overall inflation trend was “flat” in November and that indicators suggest it is likely to decline in December. Demand within the country was slowing, helping to reduce inflation, it said.

Inflation in Turkey surged in recent years due to declining foreign reserves and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s unconventional economic policy of lowering rates as a way to tame inflation — which he later abandoned.

Inflation stood at 47% in November, after having peaked at 85% in late 2022, although independent economists say the real rate is much higher than the official figures.

Most economists argue that higher interest rates help control inflation, but the Turkish leader had fired central bank governors for failing to fall in line with his previous rate-cutting policies.

Following a return to more conventional policies under a new economic team, the central bank raised interest rates from 8.5% to 50% between May 2023 and March 2024. The bank had kept rates steady at 50% until Thursday's rate cut.

The high inflation has left many households struggling to afford basic goods, such as food and housing.

Young girls sell tissues to passersby on the Karakoy sea promenade in Istanbul, Turkey, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)