Emergency return in Japan: ATR-72 crew reports cockpit window fault
A Japan Air Commuter (JAC) ATR-72-212A operating a domestic flight in Japan was forced to return to Kagoshima Airport after the crew reported an abnormal noise from a cockpit side window during climb-out.
The aircraft, registered JA02JC, was operating flight JC-3745 from Kagoshima to Yakushima on April 13 with 46 people on board when the issue occurred shortly after departure from runway 34, News.Az reports, citing The Aviation Herald.
According to the incident report, the crew stopped the climb at around 5,000 feet after hearing unusual wind noise coming from the left-hand cockpit side window. As a precaution, the pilots decided to return to Kagoshima.
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The aircraft landed safely on runway 34 approximately 25 minutes after takeoff. No injuries were reported.
The airline later described the problem as a malfunction involving the left cockpit side window, which is currently under investigation.
As of about 13 hours after landing, the aircraft remained on the ground in Kagoshima pending inspection and possible maintenance work.
The ATR-72, a twin-engine regional turboprop widely used for short domestic routes, is designed for frequent operations in island regions such as southern Japan, where JAC connects smaller airports like Yakushima with larger hubs.
By Aysel Mammadzada
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