A tourist helicopter carrying three people has gone missing near Mount Aso, one of Japan’s most active volcanoes, after failing to return from a short sightseeing flight.
The Robinson R44 helicopter took off from Aso City at 10:52 am local time on January 20 for a planned 10-minute tour. But it never came back, prompting a search operation. Police later spotted an object resembling an aircraft inside the crater of Nakadake, one of Mount Aso’s peaks, though authorities have not confirmed it is the missing helicopter.
The aircraft was piloted by a 64-year-old veteran with four decades of experience, and was carrying two Taiwanese passengers. Cloudy weather was reported in the area, and search efforts were temporarily suspended overnight before resuming the following morning, January 21.
While investigations are ongoing, the disappearance has renewed attention on the rare but troubling cases in which aircraft vanish without immediate explanation. Click through to learn about other flights that mysteriously disappeared.