What happened
Shortly after taking off from Tachikawa AFB, the aircraft entered a fatal descent into the Pacific Ocean near the Japanese coastline. The flight lasted roughly thirty-three minutes before the impact occurred. Following the crash, search efforts recovered very little debris from the ocean surface. There were no survivors among the eight crew members on board.
Findings
Investigations into the accident identified a critical mechanical failure as the primary driver of the disaster. The sequence began with a failure in the nose case of the number three engine. This malfunction caused various aircraft components to strike the number four engine, which subsequently detached from the airframe. This separation led to severe structural damage to both the fuselage and the wing, which likely resulted in the loss of electrical power and the inability of the crew to maintain control of the aircraft.