The mysterious incident involving the American B1-B Lancer strategic bombing, dislocated under the nose of Russia, explained by a military official
B1-B Lancer Strategic Bombardier. Photo source: Alireza Boeini / Alamy / Profimedia
An emergency landing by an American strategic bomber in northeast Japan led to the closing of the common runway of an air base and a civil airport, canceling commercial flights and causing harsh reactions from local authorities, according to Stars and Stripes. They are now demanding stricter safety measures from US Air Force and the Japanese Defense Ministry.
The B-1B Lancer bomber, dislocated from the Dyess base in Texas, landed on Tuesday, around 6:05 pm, at the Misawa air base, said Captain Leeroy Stark, spokesman for the Squadress 35.
The track, which is used by both the Japanese army and the commercial flights of Misawa airport, was closed for about 90 minutes, until around 7:30 pm.
The images broadcast by the Japanese press showed the plane stopped on the track, surrounded by intervention vehicles with the turf.
According to Japan Airlines, a flight scheduled from Tokyo (Haneda) could not land and was forced to return, and the return flight was canceled, affecting about 200 passengers.
“B-1B remained on the track as a precautionary measure, to allow the intervention teams to inspect the device before allowing to release the track,” explained Stark.
The incident caused rapid reactions from the local authorities in the city of Misawa and the Aomori Prefecture, who submitted official protests to the Base and Ministry of Defense Command. “We believe that this incident causes concern among the population of the Prefecture,” it is shown in a letter published on the official website of the Prefectural Government.
“We deeply regret that this event took place, despite our previous requests of April 18 on the stability and safety of flights,” continues officials in the document. The administration of the city of Misawa has submitted a similar protest, demanding the identification of the causes, the communication of the details and the implementation of concrete measures to prevent similar incidents.
A local official responsible for relations with the military base told Stars and Stripes that the incident has generated “deep concern” among the inhabitants.
The request of April 18 had already been issued after the arrival of at least two B-1B bombers at Misawa, in a temporary mission to strengthen the military presence in the region.
Captain Stark confirmed that the aircraft involved in the incident was part of this mission. “The dislocations of the bombing forces support the broader Indo-Pacific strategy, which aims to maintain a free and open region,” he said.
Stark stressed that the base is closely collaborated with Misawa airport to maintain a balance between military and civilian operations. “The execution of safe and efficient air operations is an absolute priority for US Air Forces,” he added.
