Pittsfield native killed in U.S. Air Force Osprey crash off Japan

A Massachusetts airman was reportedly killed in a crash of a U.S. Air Force Osprey off of the southern coast of Japan on Wednesday, according statements from the Pittsfield Police Department and U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal.

Staff Sgt. Jacob "Jake" Galliher, a 2017 graduate from Taconic High School in Pittsfield, was one of eight crew members on board the Osprey aircraft, the Pittsfield police said on Facebook. Seven others remain missing from the crash that took place during a training mission, the Air Force Special Operations Command said in a statement Friday.

“As a father, my heart goes out to Staff Sgt. Jacob Galliher’s mother and father during this difficult time. Any parent will tell you there is no greater pain than the pain of losing a child,” Rep. Neal said in a statement. “The Pittsfield community and a grateful nation mourns the loss of Jacob Galliher.”

Galliher leaves behind a wife and two sons, as well as his mother and father, said Neal.

The search for the missing crew members and the aircraft continues, the Air Force command said Friday.

“Search and rescue operations consist of a combination of air, surface, and subsurface search of water and coastline in the vicinity of Yakushima, Japan in order to locate the crewmembers,” the command said.

The cause of Wednesday's crash is still under investigation. Search operations widened Friday with additional U.S. military personnel joining the effort, while Japanese coast guard and military ships focused on an undersea search using sonar.

The U.S.-made Osprey is a hybrid aircraft that takes off and lands like a helicopter but can rotate its propellers forward and cruise much faster, like an airplane, during flight.

Ospreys have had a number of crashes, including in Japan, where they are used at U.S. and Japanese military bases, and the latest crash rekindled safety concerns.

Japan's top government spokesperson expressed concern Friday that the U.S. military is continuing to fly Osprey aircraft in the country without providing adequate information about Wednesday's fatal crash.

“We are concerned about the continuing Osprey flights despite our repeated requests and the absence of a sufficient explanation about their safety” from the U.S. military, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said Friday.

The Pentagon said Thursday that U.S. Ospreys continue to operate in Japan, and Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said she was not aware of an official request from Japan to ground them.

Japanese officials say they asked the U.S. military to halt Osprey flights in Japan except for those involved in the search operations.

Defense Minister Minoru Kihara said he met with the commander of U.S. Forces Japan, Lt. Gen. Ricky Rupp, on Thursday afternoon and repeated his request that flights be allowed only after the aircraft's safety is confirmed. He acknowledged that he did not specifically use the words “grounding” or “suspension.”

With reporting from The Associated Press.