Overview
- Three people aboard—a Japanese pilot in his 60s and two Taiwanese passengers—remain unaccounted for after the Robinson R44 was found wrecked on Nakadake No. 1 crater’s inner north slope.
- Japan’s transport ministry has designated the case an aviation accident, and authorities confirmed the wreckage bears the missing aircraft’s registration.
- Transport Safety Board investigators arrived Thursday, with lead investigator Keisuke Tagami warning the inquiry will be difficult and noting the aircraft lacked a flight data recorder.
- The helicopter departed Aso Cuddly Dominion around 10:50 a.m. for a roughly 10‑minute tour, and an automatic smartphone emergency call after a heavy shock near the crater alerted responders before debris was located by aerial search including the JASDF.
- Operator Takumi Air runs the R44 tours and previously had a May 2024 emergency landing involving the same model that left three people seriously injured.