Eight people have been rescued after a US Navy aircraft carrying 11 crew and passengers crashed off the coast of Japan, the defence ministry has said. It says that preliminary US military reports indicated that engine failure may have caused the crash.

The Navy did not say what kind of aircraft was involved, but Japan's Self-Defense Forces have said it was a C-2 transport aircraft. The aircraft was travelling to a US aircraft carrier in the Philippine Sea.

Japanese and American rescuers raced to get to the stricken plane, which ditched in seas off the remote Japanese reef of Okinotori.
(snip)

Hoping the other three will be rescued as well.

Or severe incompetence up and down the ranks of our Navy?

It's been a difficult year for the Navy in the western North Pacific following a spate of incidents -- most involving ships assigned to the East Asia-based US 7th fleet -- that included the deaths of 17 sailors.

In August, Vice Adm. Joseph Aucoin was relieved of his duty as the commander of 7th Fleet following a deadly collision between the destroyer USS John S. McCain and a merchant ship off Singapore that left 10 US sailors dead.

In June, the guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald, also of the 7th Fleet, collided with a cargo ship off Japan, killing seven US sailors.

Those two fatal collisions were "avoidable" and "numerous failures occurred on the part of leadership," a Navy report concluded earlier this month.

At least two other incidents involving US 7th Fleet ships happened in waters off East Asia this year.

On Saturday, a Japanese tugboat lost propulsion and drifted into the USS Benfold in a bay off central Japan, causing minor damage to the guided-missile destroyer, the Navy said.

In late January, the guided-missile cruiser USS Antietam ran aground in Tokyo Bay, damaging its propellers.

Another incident in East Asian waters involved a US 3rd Fleet ship: In May, the guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Champlain was struck by a South Korean fishing boat off the Korean Peninsula.

The Navy has launched multiple investigations and reviews in the wake of this year's accidents.

The C2-A that crashed Wednesday belongs to a Japan-based squadron that generally flies cargo and passengers between shore bases and the USS Ronald Reagan.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/22/politics/navy-aircraft-crash/index.html

those planes are getting a little long in the tooth. Glad 8 people survived, hope they find the other 3, but if they haven't by now, it is doubtful.