Two killed as light aircraft crashes in W. Japan

A light aircraft crashed in a mountainous region of Nara Prefecture in western Japan on Monday, killing its two occupants, Japan's public broadcaster NHK said, quoting local firefighters. 

Photo taken Aug. 14, 2017, from a Kyodo News helicopter shows the mountainous area in the western Japan village of Yamazoe, where a small airplane is believed to have crashed. [Photo: Kyodo News via Getty Images/VCG]

The aircraft took off from Yao Airport in Osaka Prefecture at just before noon and was headed to Fukushima Prefecture, a person with knowledge of the plane's flight route said, adding that the plane had returned to Osaka for an unknown reason. 

The flight plan submitted before the plane took off said that there were two people including the pilot aboard the small aircraft, and the flight time was likely to be 2 hours 45 minutes. 

After the plane had taken off, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, there was no further communication from the plane until a call came in from the pilot, telling the air traffic controller the plane was going to "return to Yao."

Local police in Nara Prefecture were contacted at 12:15 p.m. and told that a light aircraft may have crashed in the village of Yamazoe, local firefighters said.

The vicinity of the crash site was subsequently found to be covered in burning debris, said the firefighters. 

Local firefighters and investigators are looking into the cause of the crash.