A UH-1Y Venom helicopter sits in a field near Cape Hedo, Okinawa, on Nov. 14, 2024, after making a precautionary landing. (Kunigami Village)

CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — A Marine helicopter made a precautionary landing Thursday in a goat pasture near the northernmost point on Okinawa, according to the Marines and a local spokesman.

The UH-1Y Venom helicopter from Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 267, Camp Pendleton, Calif., was on routine training when it landed near Cape Hedo in Kunigami village at approximately 5 p.m., 1st Marine Aircraft Wing spokesman Maj. Joseph Butterfield said by email Friday.

None of the six crew members on board were injured, and the helicopter returned safely to Marine Corps Air Station Futenma on Okinawa around midday, Butterfield said in separate emails.

“The pilots and aircrew executed established safety protocols to ensure a controlled and safe landing,” he wrote. “A maintenance team has been assigned to assess and prepare the aircraft for a safe return to station. The safety of our aircrew and the communities in which we operate remain a top priority.”

The helicopter squadron is attached to the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing on Okinawa as part of the Unit Deployment Program, Butterfield wrote.

The aircraft landed one mile southwest of Cape Hedo next to Route 58, the island’s major thoroughfare, a spokesman for Kunigami village’s General Affairs Division said by phone Friday. He described the property as “a place to get pasture for goats.”

The Okinawa Defense Bureau, an arm of Japan’s Ministry of Defense, told the village that “the helicopter was flying over the seas around Cape Hedo for training when the crew decided to land as a preventive measure after a warning lamp turned on,” the spokesman said.

The helicopter was still at the scene Friday morning, and the defense bureau told the village that maintenance work on the aircraft began at 7 a.m., the spokesman said.

Some Japanese officials are required to speak to the media only on condition of anonymity.

The Venom helicopter, manufactured by Bell, is a utility helicopter that can be used for close air support missions, combat assault support missions, search-and-rescue and casualty evacuation, according to a Navy fact sheet. It can be armed with a variety of rockets and machine guns.