PITTSFORD, N.Y. — News that an airman from Pittsford was among eight airmen killed in an offshore crash in Japan “definitely struck a nerve.”

That’s how Joe Cutter put it during a holiday festival in Pittsford Tuesday night after word that U.S. Air Force Capt. Terrell K. Brayman, 32, was among the eight who perished.

The Air Force said that after days of intensive, 24/7 search and rescue operations for eight Airmen following the November 29 CV-22 mishap off the shore of Yakushima Island, Japan, the U.S. military transitioned search and rescue operations to search and recovery operations. Six of the eight crew members’ remains have been located.

Capt. Brayman was a CV-22 pilot and flight commander assigned to the 21st Special Operations Squadron, 353rd Special Operations Wing, Yokota Air Base, Japan. He was a 2009 Pittsford Mendon High School graduate.

The transition from a rescue operation to a recovery operation happens when the determination is made that survivors are unlikely. The recovery operation will now focus on locating and recovering all remains and aircraft debris.

Cutter, who is a Pittsford volunteer firefighter and a local contractor, says this news hits close to home.

“I have a cousin who actually flies an Osprey and it hit home. It’s very sad. It’s very unfortunate. I know they are a very complicated machine to operate. It’s like flying an airplane and a helicopter at once,” Cutter said.

Alton Byrd Singer served in the Army for eight years as a combat engineer.

“In the case of the incident of the airmen that ended up dying in the Air Force, it’s very tragic — because once you are in the military, It hits us all when another member dies, whether it’s past or current, and so my heart goes out,” Singer said.