(Translated by https://www.hiragana.jp/)
CNN - U.S. jet accidentally shot down by Japan - June 4, 1996
The Wayback Machine - https://web.archive.org/web/20080208160400/http://www.cnn.com:80/WORLD/9606/04/japan.vessel/
CNN WORLD News

Japan apologizes for gunning down U.S. plane

Japan US

Both aviators ejected safely

June 4, 1996
Web posted at: 1:00 p.m. EDT (1700 GMT)

HONOLULU, Hawaii (CNN) -- Japan is investigating what went wrong when one of its destroyers accidentally shot down a U.S. attack bomber during joint-military exercises in the Pacific early Tuesday.

The two crew members -- Lt. Cmdr. William Royster of Kansas City, Missouri, and Lt. Keith Douglas of Birmingham, Alabama -- safely ejected from their U.S. A-6E Navy Intruder. They were rescued within minutes and were in good condition.

Intruder

Japan quickly apologized for the mishap and U.S. president Bill Clinton quickly accepted the apology.

"He accepts the gracious expression of regret by the Japanese government," White House spokesman Mike McCurry said.

The accident occurred as the Intruder was towing a target for gunnery practice utilizing anti-missile defense weapons from the Japanese destroyer Yuugiri, said Lt. Jeff Davis, another spokesman for the U.S. fleet.

USS Independence

The destroyer fired at the target but mistakenly hit the plane, which crashed into the Pacific Ocean about 1,500 miles west of the Hawaiian islands. Davis said it is "fairly common" for a plane in live-fire military exercises to "tow a target."

Royster and Douglas were rescued by a small boat from the Yuugiri and airlifted to the USS Independence. Cmdr. Keith Arterburn of the Pacific Fleet said the two were able to walk on their own.(127K AIFF or WAV sound)

Royster was treated for facial cuts; Douglas suffered superficial abrasions and returned to duty.

Mechanical trouble?

Japanese Defense Agency officials said they would share investigation results with U.S. officials. Japan also will halt shooting practice with live ammunition, Japan Defense Agency spokesman Tomohide Matsumura said.

The joint-military exercises are part of maneuvers called RIMPAC, for Rim of the Pacific. The exercises, which occur every other year, began in 1971 with Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Canada participating. New Zealand later withdrew from the group; Japan has taken part since 1980.

This is the first such accident involving Japan since it began participating in RIMPAC, said Tensuke Kobayashi, a Japanese navy official.

Kobayashi said mechanical trouble in the weapons system may have been at fault. However, officials have yet to confirm his analysis.

In the RIMPAC exercise, participants are divided into teams that conduct virtual warfare. One team stages a mock defense of Hawaii while the other tries to capture it.

Besides the United States and Japan, countries participating in this year's RIMPAC exercises are Australia, Canada, Chile and South Korea. The exercises are to end June 21.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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