United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands
The F-100 crash became a major tragedy in Okinawa as the victims were mostly very young schoolchildren, and contributed to increasingly ill-feelings towards the United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands from the Okinawan community. The crash led to fierce protests of anti-American sentiment in Okinawa, calling for the US occupation authorities to leave and for the islands to be returned to the control of the Government of Japan. The US military immediately launched a compensation scheme for victims, paying $4,500 for the dead and $2,300-$5,900 for serious injuries depending on disability. The US military paid a total of $119,066 in compensation for the accident, but this amount was only about 10% of the victims requested. The US authorities determined that the defective F-100 had experienced an engine fire despite recently undergoing repairs in Taiwan, and that Schmitt had attempted to aim the aircraft at an unpopulated hilly area before ejecting.