What happened
On the afternoon of the accident, a single-engine aircraft departed from Kumamoto Airport's runway 07 at 17:11 local time. The flight was a private operation destined for Kitakyūshū, carrying a pilot and one passenger. Shortly after departure, at 17:12:11, the aircraft was tracked by the Kumamoto aerodrome station radar. During the initial climb, the pilot provided a position report indicating the plane was at 2,300 feet, approximately 6 nautical miles north of the airport.
As the aircraft continued its ascent toward a target altitude of 6,500 feet, the pilot received instructions to switch radio frequencies. However, roughly three minutes after the takeoff, the plane struck trees and crashed within a forested region on the southeast slope of Mt Yago, situated about 14 km northeast of Kumamoto Airport. Search efforts located the wreckage at an elevation of 850 meters the following afternoon. The impact destroyed the aircraft, and both occupants were killed in the accident.