On July 26, a small airplane with three crew members aboard crashed in waters some 300 meters off Nagasaki airport in Omura, Nagasaki Prefecture, in the afternoon, rescue authorities said.

The three crew members - the plane's owner Etsuo Koga, a 59-year-old dentist, Kensuke Haraguchi, a 54-year-old self-employed worker, and Tsutomu Morokuma, a 65-year-old dental mechanic - were all rescued, but Haraguchi remains unconscious, according to the authorities.

The plane took off from the airport at 5:21 p.m. and hit the water two minutes later, they said.

Shortly after the take-off, the pilot sought permission to land at the airport again, and a flight controller saw smoke and flames on the underside of the plane.