Japan’s F-15 Fighter Jet Blocks Okinawa Airport Runway After Landing Gear Breaks

A Japanese Air Self-Defense Force F-15 fighter jet was left stranded on the runway at Naha Airport, Okinawa, after suffering a landing gear failure shortly after touching down Tuesday.

The fighter, based at nearby Naha Air Base, had reportedly returned from a scramble mission when something went wrong during landing. The jet came to a stop tilted noticeably to the left after its left main landing gear broke.

Thankfully, there were no injuries.

But the incident created a major disruption at one of Okinawa’s busiest airports. Runway B was closed from around 12:55 p.m. for approximately four hours while officials worked to remove the disabled fighter.

Passenger flights continued using Runway A, but arrivals and departures were delayed during the closure.

The damaged F-15 was eventually lifted onto a truck using a crane and taken away from the runway, allowing normal operations to resume.

The incident also highlights the unique challenges at Naha Airport, where civilian passenger aircraft and Japanese military aircraft share the airport’s runways.

Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki called the incident “gravely disappointing” and urged authorities to quickly determine what caused the landing gear failure and introduce measures to prevent a repeat.

Investigators will now focus on what happened during the landing and why the F-15’s left main landing gear failed.

A fighter returning from a scramble mission, a broken landing gear, and a runway suddenly closed to civilian traffic — a dramatic reminder of how quickly military and commercial aviation can collide operationally.