Oct 17 (NHK) - Gunma Prefecture says its helicopter that crashed in August is suspected to have been flying in violation of civil aviation laws.
The prefectural office reported this to the central government on Tuesday.
The helicopter, owned by the prefecture and used for disaster rescue work, crashed in a mountainous region in Gunma, north of Tokyo, killing all 9 crewmembers.
The office now says the helicopter was not carrying a logbook at the time of the accident. The Civil Aeronautics Act requires all aircraft to carry logbooks containing records of their maintenance and flight operations.
Officials disclosed that the logbook was found in the disaster squad's office 4 days after the crash. It also said the certificates that pilots are required to carry on flights were also found in the office.
An official at the prefecture's fire safety section, Hiroshi Omi, said this should have been disclosed sooner.
The prefectural office earlier received administrative guidance for its failure to file accurate flight plans for the helicopter. Local authorities found that there had been more than 290 such cases since April last year.
Investigators from the transport ministry's safety board examined the helicopter's wreckage at a facility in Maebashi, Gunma on Tuesday. They plan to determine the cause of the crash by checking the damage and images taken by crewmembers at the time.
Source: ANNnewsCH
