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Yamagata ken
7th Jul 2008, 13:46
From the Mainchi:

Search for helicopter missing at sea with 4 aboard continues - Mainichi Daily News (http://mdn.mainichi.jp/national/news/20080707p2a00m0na006000c.html)


"Search for helicopter missing at sea with 4 aboard continues OMA, Aomori -- The coast guard, police and a local fishermen's cooperative continued Monday to search for a helicopter with four people aboard that went missing here while flying over a foggy area at sea, law enforcers said.
At around 11:45 a.m. on Sunday, an angler reported to police that he heard a huge noise and that a helicopter appeared to have crashed.
Police later found that an Ogawa Air Inc. helicopter chartered by Asahi Broadcasting Aomori (ABA) went missing after it took off from Aomori Airport on Sunday morning, prefectural police said.
Aomori Prefectural Police, the local office of the Japan Coast Guard (JCG) and a local fishermen's cooperative launched a massive search for the helicopter.
Traces of oil believed to have leaked from the helicopter were found in the sea off Cape Oma. A radar in one of the fishing boats involved in the search operation sensed an unnatural rise on the bottom of the sea nearby. JCG officers are trying to confirm whether the figure is the missing helicopter.
Those aboard the helicopter have been identified as Kumio Koge, 57, the captain of the helicopter, Hiromitsu Kikuchi, 43, co-pilot, ABA presenter Shingo Kimura, 28, and cameraman Shinji Omori, 39.
According to the man who alerted police about the accident, the helicopter became invisible over the sea because of a dense fog, the sound of its rotor stopped, and a huge noise was heard."


Reported on tonights NHK news, they've found a door, a headset and an ID card.

Yamagata ken
8th Jul 2008, 04:27
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
2008/7/8

asahi.com(朝日新聞社):Signs of lost chopper found - English (http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200807080128.html)


OMA, Aomori Prefecture--An oil slick, apparently from a helicopter missing with four people aboard, was found Monday in waters off Oma, officials of a local fishermen's association said.
Boats using fish-detecting sonar also located what may be the fuselage of the lost aircraft, the officials said.
Also on Monday, a helicopter door, a pilot's headset and other items were retrieved from waters about 60 kilometers off Cape Omazaki.
The helicopter that went missing Sunday was carrying two pilots and a TV crew--an announcer and a camera operator--for Asahi Broadcasting Aomori Co.
Investigators said the helicopter was not equipped with an emergency locator transmitter, despite a requirement that all aircraft carry the device.
Officials said the oil slick was found a little more than 1 kilometer off Cape Omazaki. It was about 30 meters in diameter, they said.(IHT/Asahi: July 8,2008)

Furia
8th Jul 2008, 06:49
My condolences for the families of the people onboard.

What is the make and model of the helicopter involved? It is not stated on the news linked here.

alouette
8th Jul 2008, 08:16
Could have been an A-Star; single or twin...according to the ads on company's website.:sad:

Yamagata ken
8th Jul 2008, 09:12
I believe it was an Aerospatiale AS 360, as that is what Ogawa Air Inc. operates. That is only inference though.

Last night's NHK news gave the type, which I recognised as European, but I was semi comatose from a half hour report on the G8 summit, and not paying attention.

Edit.

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