A U.S. Air Force Osprey tiltrotor plane crashed Wednesday throughout what U.S. officers mentioned was a “routine training mission” off the coast of Japan, the newest in a string of lethal mishaps involving the aviation hybrid that may take off and land like a helicopter however fly like an airplane.
The crash killed at the least one of many six U.S. crew members believed to be on board, the Japanese coast guard instructed the Associated Press, and the standing of the opposite crew members was not instantly identified.
Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki instructed reporters Wednesday that he would ask the U.S. navy to droop all Osprey flights in Japan because the crash was being investigated.
The Osprey program has been plagued with issues, each monetary and mechanical, because it first rolled off the meeting line and was shipped to the Marine Corps, which stays its major buyer. It has a sticker worth of greater than $70 million per helicopter.
However, the very best value could also be greater than 50 service members who’ve died since June 1991 after dozens of Osprey aviation incidents starting from a full crash to a tough touchdown on an airstrip.
According to Japan’s Kyodo News, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida requested officers to think about the potential of asking the U.S. navy to floor its Ospreys because the investigation proceeds.
“It is an issue we should think about after confirming what has actually happened,” Mr. Kishida instructed reporters.
Despite the Osprey having an extended historical past of mechanical failures, it can seemingly take a 12 months or extra earlier than Air Force investigators decide the reason for Wednesday’s crash, mentioned Timothy Loranger, a former Marine Corps plane mechanic and personal pilot turned lawyer.
“Right now, the best information we have is from the witness who reported seeing fire coming from an engine, and the aircraft flipping upside down before the crash,” Mr. Loranger instructed The Washington Times. “That points to mechanical failure as a primary suspect in this crash.
He is representing the widows of Marines who were killed in June 2022 when their MV-22B Osprey crashed about 115 miles east of San Diego. Air Force investigators will likely want to know whether Wednesday’s crash was the result of issues in the Osprey’s gearbox, where the clutch slips and causes engine failure, Mr. Loranger said.
While the Marines have been the primary customer for the Osprey, the Air Force has also deployed a number of the aircraft. The CV-22B Osprey that went down Wednesday was assigned to the Air Force’s 353rd Special Operations Wing at Yokota Air Base, about 25 miles west of Tokyo.
An eyewitness told Japan’s NHK network that the Osprey appeared to roll over in mid-flight before suddenly descending towards the water. Before Wednesday’s incident, the most recent fatal Osprey crash happened in August 2023, when three Marines died after their V-22 went down during maneuvers in Australia.
“With every crash, questions come up about why Ospreys are still flying. The answer is simple: It’s a workhouse and is needed,” Mr Loranger mentioned. “Its primary function is to carry troops and equipment into the battlefield, where having an aircraft with vertical takeoff capability is an asset.”
The deadliest crash occurred on April 8, 2022, when 19 Marines had been killed when their V-22 Osprey went down throughout an evening coaching train at a regional airport close to Tucson, Ariz.
“The accident was attributed to a little-understood flight phenomenon called vortex ring state, or VRS, in which a helicopter descending rapidly at low forward speed drops into its own turbulence,” in response to a Wired journal report. “Its rotors lose their grip on the air, and the bird drops out of the sky.”
All 5 Marines aboard an MV-22B Osprey died in August 2022 when it crashed within the desert about 150 miles west of San Diego, California. With the Osprey, the Pentagon hoped to create a single plane that might accomplish quite a lot of missions, Mr. Loranger mentioned.
“It’s new in a lot of ways and there are a lot of designing and engineering problems still being resolved,” he mentioned. “It’s still so new that they never really figured out if they have all the kinks worked out of it.”
