Japan Coast Guard Raids Operator of Helicopter in Fatal Crash

Fukuoka, April 9 (Jiji Press)--The Japan Coast Guard on Wednesday raided SGC Saga Aviation Co., the operator of an ambulance helicopter that crashed off Iki Island in Nagasaki Prefecture, southwestern Japan, on Sunday, killing three people.
The raid on the aircraft operator based in Saga Prefecture, also in southwestern Japan, was conducted by the Karatsu Coast Guard Office in the same prefecture on suspicion of professional negligence resulting in death and injury, to seize the helicopter's inspection records and investigate the cause of the accident.
A marine salvage company commissioned by SGC Saga Aviation began work Wednesday morning to lift the crashed aircraft out of the sea. The JCG is set to investigate the helicopter body as well.
According to the JCG and others, the helicopter departed Tsushima Airport in Nagasaki at 1:30 p.m. Sunday and was scheduled to arrive at a hospital in the southwestern prefecture of Fukuoka at 2:15 p.m. that day. However, the helicopter operator lost track of the aircraft's location about 10 minutes after departure.
The helicopter was later found off the coast of Iki Island, and three of the six people onboard died, including an 86-year-old female patient and a 34-year-old male doctor.
(2025/04/09-14:44)
To read a full story, please click here to find out how to subscribe.
NATIONAL
-
04/16 17:21 Japan to Hold 3rd Auction of Stockpiled Rice Next Week
-
04/16 14:27 Japan Unprecedentedly Loved by Taiwanese: Poll
-
04/16 14:19 Family Mourns Univ. Student Killed in 2016 Kumamoto Quake
-
04/16 13:54 Japan Core Machinery Orders Up 4.3 Pct in Feb.
-
04/16 12:19 Japan Enacts Bill for Quick Restoration of Disaster-Hit Ports
-
04/16 10:15 U.S. Official to Visit Japan, Others from Wed.
-
04/16 09:16 G-7 Ministers Demand Ceasefire in Sudan
-
04/16 00:07 Japan Unlikely to Compile Extra Budget Now
-
04/15 21:41 MSDF Ships to Visit China-Backed Naval Base in Cambodia
-
04/15 21:09 (Update) Ishiba Honors Armitage's Contribution to Japan-U.S. Alliance
-
04/15 20:58 (Update) Japan Min. Akazawa to Visit U.S. from Wed. for Tariff Talks
-
04/15 20:46 INTERVIEW: ASEAN+3 Economist Warns of U.S. Tariff Impact on Japan
-
04/15 20:42 Ishiba's Expo Diplomacy Begins with Turkmen Leader
-
04/15 20:20 CDP Group Proposes Consumption Tax Exemption for Food
-
04/15 20:10 Man Arrested over Fatal Stabbing of Girl in Saitama
-
04/15 20:04 Finance Ministry Calls for Increasing Tariff-Free Rice Imports
-
04/15 18:56 Japan Emperor Meets with Turkmenistan President
-
04/15 18:12 Japan Min. Akazawa to Visit U.S. from Wed. for Tariff Talks
-
04/15 17:59 Japan Issues Cease-and-Desist Order against Google
-
04/15 17:16 U.S. Govt Revokes Grant for JR-Backed Texas Bullet Train
-
04/15 17:07 Japan Govt Spokesman Mourns Death of Armitage
-
04/15 16:59 GSDF to Deploy Ospreys to Saga from July
-
04/15 16:26 Hayabusa2 Mission Important to Planetary Defense
-
04/15 15:26 (Update) TEPCO Begins 2nd Nuclear Debris Removal Work
-
04/15 15:15 (Update) Ex-U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Armitage Dies at 79
-
04/15 14:06 Wakayama Governor Kishimoto Dies at 68
-
04/15 12:06 Kyoto Hospital Succeeds in iPS Sheet Transplant to Diabetic
-
04/15 10:53 TEPCO Begins 2nd Nuclear Debris Removal Work
-
04/15 09:24 Ex-U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Armitage Dies at 79
-
04/14 22:28 Japanese Firms Call for Improved Distribution of Stockpiled Rice
-
04/14 21:40 2026 Olympic, Paralympic Torches Unveiled at Osaka Expo
-
04/14 21:18 (Update) Ishiba, Labor Leader Yoshino Vow Cooperation over Wage Hikes
-
04/14 20:30 Osaka Expo Advance Ticket Sales Miss Target
-
04/14 19:40 Japanese Emperor Hosts Tea Party for Lawmakers
-
04/14 19:08 (Update) Japan's Population Falls for 14th Straight Year
-
04/14 18:31 S. Korea Industry Groups Donate 3 B. Won for Wartime Labor Payments
-
04/14 18:15 (Update) Ishiba Denies Retaliatory Tariffs against U.S.
-
04/14 16:31 Wakayama Governor Taken to Hospital after Collapse
-
04/14 16:24 Japan's Population Falls for 14th Straight Year
-
04/14 15:38 Kumamoto Quake Victims Remembered after 9 Years
-
04/14 15:22 Japanese National Confirmed Dead in Myanmar Quake
-
04/14 13:59 Japan to Decide Whether to Compile Extra Budget: Ishiba
-
04/14 13:44 Whooping Cough Spreading in Japan
-
04/14 12:47 Turkmenistan 1st to Mark Osaka Expo National Day
-
04/14 10:48 58,000 Elderly People Died Alone at Home in Japan in 2024
-
04/14 09:46 USTR Hopes to Discuss Currency with Japan
-
04/13 18:49 LDP's Moriyama Says to Coordinate for Extra Budget
-
04/13 17:05 (Update) LDP, CDP Officials Side by Side Voice Caution on Tax Cut
-
04/13 14:07 Ishiba Argues Trump Tariffs Negative for U.S. Manufacturing
-
04/13 13:30 LDP, CDP Officials Side by Side Voice Caution on Tax Cut
-
04/13 13:03 (Update 2) Osaka Expo Kicks Off for 184-Day Run
-
04/13 10:57 Osaka Expo Kicks Off for 184-Day Run
-
04/12 22:44 (Update 2) Opening Ceremony Held for Osaka Expo
-
04/12 19:01 Japan Ruling Coalition Divided over Consumption Tax Cut
-
04/12 17:39 (Update) Opening Ceremony Held for Osaka Expo
-
04/12 16:16 Opening Ceremony Held for Osaka Expo
-
04/12 14:21 Hiroshima Shifts from Invitation to Notification for Peace Ceremony
-
04/12 13:56 People in Japan Forecast 12 Pct Inflation over Coming Year
-
04/12 13:24 Brazilian Man to Face Jury Trial over Murder of Wife, Child in Japan
-
04/12 12:47 CDP Begins Discussions on Consumption Tax Cut
-
04/11 21:58 Ishiba, Japanese Labor Union Leader Yoshino to Meet on Monday
-
04/11 21:26 Japan, U.S. Top Tariff Negotiators to Meet Thurs.
-
04/11 20:41 (Update) Japan's Emperor, Empress Visit Osaka Expo Venue
-
04/11 20:18 Seko to Testify about LDP Funds Scandal before Upper House
-
04/11 19:50 Police Fully Prepared for 184-Day Osaka World Expo
-
04/11 19:21 Japanese American Museum in L.A. Faces Another Budget Crisis
-
04/11 19:12 Japan Aims to Boost Rice Exports by Eightfold over 5 Years
-
04/11 18:11 Osaka Expo to Be "Compass" to Future: Gov. Yoshimura
-
04/11 16:59 Japan's Foreign Min. to Attend NPT Review Prep Meeting
-
04/11 14:10 Japan PM Chats with Myaku-Myaku Doll ahead of Osaka Expo
-
04/11 13:15 Emperor, Empress Arrive in Osaka for Expo
-
04/11 12:33 Japan Ready to Discuss Nontariff Barriers, Currencies with U.S.
-
04/11 12:15 Japan PM Ishiba Orders Task Force on U.S. Tariff Talks
-
04/11 12:08 Trump Calls Nippon Steel Potential "Investor" in U.S. Steel
-
04/11 10:17 Trump Slams Japan-U.S. Security Treaty as One-Sided
-
04/10 22:22 1 in Cardiopulmonary Arrest in Nara after Lightning Strike
-
04/10 22:10 Japan SDF Scrambled Fighters 704 Times in FY 2024
-
04/10 21:40 Ishiba Highlights Importance of Promoting Japanese Films
-
04/10 20:58 Japan's Tariff Negotiator to Visit U.S. as Early as Next Week
-
04/10 18:52 GSDF to Conduct 1st Surface-to-Ship Missile Drill in Japan
-
04/10 18:45 U.S. Military, Okinawa Police to Hold Joint Patrol
-
04/10 18:31 MinebeaMitsumi Emerges as White Knight for Shibaura Electronics
-
04/10 18:13 Abductee Megumi Yokota's Classmates Donate Cherry Trees to School
-
04/10 17:12 Museum on Japanese Americans Hit with Subsidy Cuts
-
04/10 16:53 TEPCO Begins Treated Water Discharge for FY 2025
-
04/10 16:05 Japan Welcomes 90-Day Pause on Trump's Reciprocal Tariffs
-
04/10 13:30 Japan Producer Prices Rise 3.3 Pct in FY 2024
-
04/10 13:30 Tokyo Police Initiative for Crime Victims' Families Mark 10th Anniv.
-
04/10 13:20 (Update) Trump Says He Does Not Want to See U.S. Steel Go to Japan
-
04/10 12:23 Undersecretary of State Nominee Stresses Ties with Japan, S. Korea
-
04/10 10:49 Trump Says He Does Not Want to See U.S. Steel Go to Japan
-
04/09 22:38 (Update) Japan Ruling Camp Mulling Handout to Tackle Tariff Impact
-
04/09 21:32 Japan, NATO Confirm Cooperation over China, N. Korea, Russia
-
04/09 21:02 Japan Finance, BOJ Officials Vow to Minimize Tariff Impact
-
04/09 18:57 Japan Average Pump Price Hits 2nd-Highest Level on Record