US Navy aircraft crashes off Okinawa

The aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan steams the Philippine Sea during Annual Exercise 2017, joint military training between the US Navy and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, in this handout photo taken November 20, 2017.[Photo/Agencies]

A United States Navy aircraft carrying 11 crew members and passengers crashed into the sea southeast of Okinawa at about 2:45 pm on Wednesday, according to the US 7th Fleet.

The names of the crew and passengers are being withheld pending next of kin notification.

According to NHK, eight crew members have been rescued while the other three remain missing.

The recovery mission is underway and physical condition of personnel will be evaluated by USS Ronald Reagan medical staff.

The aircraft was en-route to the US Navy aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), which is currently operating in the West Pacific Ocean.

USS Ronald Reagan is conducting search and rescue operations. The cause of the crash is not known at this time.

The crash adds to the series of mishaps suffered by the Seventh Fleet this year, which a US government report has blamed on undertrained personnel.

Below is a summary of all the mishaps sustained by the Seventh Fleet this year.

On Jan. 31, US Ship (USS) Antietam ran aground near the US naval base in Yokosuka, Japan, damaging its propellers and spilling 1,100 gallons of oil in the water. No one was injured. A probe found the ship's captain Joseph Carrian "ultimately responsible."

On May 9, guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Champlain collided with a South Korean fishing boat in the Sea of Japan. No one was injured.

On June 17, destroyer USS Fitzgerald was rammed by a Philippine-flagged container ship near Yokosuka. The incident took place in the middle of the night, when the crew were mostly asleep, causing seven deaths and considerable damage to the destroyer. The US Navy later fired the ship's commanding officer, executive officer and senior enlisted sailor for alleged mistakes that caused the crash.

On Aug. 21, destroyer USS John S. McCain collided with a commercial vessel near the Strait of Malacca, causing the death of 10 US sailors.The destroyer was en route to the Port of Singapore when the incident happened. USS McCain sustained significant damage to its hull and had to undergo repairing in Yokosuka. Initial investigation reports suggested confusion at the steering wheel as the helmsman assessed the direction of the ship wrong.

On Nov. 18, guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold collided with a Japanese commercial tugboat in Japan's Sagami Bay, causing minimal damage and no injury. The tugboat had reportedly lost propulsion and drifted into the US warship during a towing exercise.