TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The U.S. Air Force on Tuesday resumed flights of its Ospreys in Japan after suspending them following a fatal crash of one of its tilt-rotor aircraft off a southwestern Japanese island in November, a Defense Ministry official said.

The U.S. Marine Corps has already resumed the operation of its MV-22s in Japan since March, days after the lifting of a worldwide flight ban on U.S. Ospreys that was imposed after the Nov. 29 accident that killed all eight airmen aboard a U.S. Air Force CV-22.

The Defense Ministry affirmed the U.S. Air Force's resumption of its Osprey flights on Tuesday morning near Yokota Air Base in the western suburbs of Tokyo, according to the official, who said the number of aircraft back in operation has not been confirmed.

The crash of the transport plane into the sea near Yakushima Island in Kagoshima prefecture during a drill was the deadliest involving an Osprey since their combat debut in 2007.

The U.S. forces in Japan have deployed 24 MV-22s, used by the Marine Corps, at the Futenma air station, and five CV-22s, used by the Air Force, at the Yokota base, excluding the one that crashed.

The U.S. military has not provided details about the cause of the incident, leaving locals anxious over the safety of Ospreys.

The Japan Self-Defense Forces also grounded its Ospreys shortly after the crash but resumed flights in March at Camp Kisarazu in Chiba Prefecture near Tokyo.