Japanese fighter jet crashes just after takeoff

Tokyo: A Japanese fighter jet crashed an instant after takeoff and went up in flames yesterday at an airport in central Japan, lightly injuring the two pilots, a spokesman for aircraft's manufacturer said.

The F-2B fighter was being taken up on a test flight prior to delivery to Japan's air force when it crashed, said Hideo Ikuno, a spokesman for the Daiya public relations firm representing the plane's maker, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.

Footage on commercial broadcaster TV Asahi showed the jet takeoff from the runway in Nagoya, only to suddenly tip downward and skid along the ground in flames. National broadcaster NHK showed the pilots jumping from the burning fuselage.

The flames were extinguished by 9.25am, about 10 minutes after the crash, Ikuno said. The two crew members, both Mitsubishi Heavy employees, were taken to a hospital with light injuries, Ikuno said.

Mitsubishi had been conducting a regular inspection on the aircraft for the air force, top government spokesman Nobutaka Machimura said. The pilot appears to have aborted the takeoff, but the reason for this is not yet clear, he said.

The two were the only ones aboard. Ikuno said the company was seeking further details about the cause of the crash.

Nagoya airport was closed indefinitely, spokesman Shinji Ono said.

Yesterday's accident was the first involving an F-2 fighter since Japan's air force began deploying them in 2000, air force spokesman 1st Lt Yuki Shiiba said.

A total of 75 F-2s, including the one involved in yesterday's mishap, have been deployed so far, he said.