Japanese and U.S. authorities are still on the search for the remaining seven missing servicemembers days after a fatal U.S. Air Force Osprey off the coast of southwestern Japan on Wednesday, as thoughts and prayers continue to pour in for the one identified crew member, Pittsfield-native Staff Sgt. Jacob Galliher.

“Jacob was an incredible son, brother, husband, father and friend to so many,” Galliher’s family said in a statement. “His short life touched and made better the lives of hundreds, if not thousands in Pittsfield, in this region and everywhere he served. Jacob lived to serve his family, his country and the people he loved.”

The V-22 Osprey crashed into the ocean off of the Japanese town of Yakushima while on a training mission to Okinawa on Wednesday.

Of the eight person crew, only one body has been recovered and identified as of Sunday evening. The Air Force Special Operations Command formally identified the victim as Galliher on Saturday.

The V-22 is a American military aircraft that combines functions of a helicopter and a plane. The cause of the crash has not yet been determined and released.

Wreckage from the crash has been collected by the regional Japanese coast guard and by fishers in the area. Japanese authorities gave over debris from the wreckage to the U.S. military for further examination Sunday.

The handover procedure was determined by the Japan-U.S. Status Forces Agreement, under which the U.S. must grant Japan the authority to seize or investigate U.S. military property. The U.S. has not granted Japan authority to investigate the crash.

“Obviously, in a fully transparent way as we investigate what happened, to rectify it, we will be transparent with our partner, Japan,” said U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel in a statement Sunday. “And while there are a lot of questions to be answered, we are focused like a laser on the search and rescue operation to secure the safety of the other servicemembers.”

Emanuel said the safety of servicemembers and surrounding communities is the “top priority” and pledged ensure the military equipment they are using is safe.

Japan announced it was suspending all its Osprey flights until details of the crash could be confirmed Thursday. Japanese officials stated they requested the U.S. also freeze Osprey flights in the country, except those used to search the crash site, and have continued to express concern over the safety of the vehicles.

The Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said she was not aware of a formal request to ground the aircrafts Thursday. On Friday, she added that while U.S. Osprey operations continue in Japan, the remaining five Ospreys in the involved squadron were not currently flying.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren said in a statement she is “pressing the military for answers about this aircraft’s troubled history and action to keep airmen safe.”

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Warren, along with Gov. Maura Healey, Rep. Richard Neal and other representatives of the Pittfield area and beyond, expressed condolences to Galliher’s family and mourned the loss of the young soldier through the weekend.

Galliher’s family said they will have more to say “about his life and its deep and lasting impact” in time.

“For now, we are mourning and ask for privacy and prayers for his wife, his two amazing children and all of us while we grieve and prepare for his return home,” the family’s statement reads.

U.S. Air Force member Jacob “Jake” Galliher (Courtesy / Pittsfield PD)