V22 Osprey down Tiwi Islands??

[EA01]

https://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/ne ... 4455025e93

I was only watching one perform at the Pacific Airshow 2 weeks ago, wonder if it is the same onoe?, how many Osprey's would the US have in Aust. at any one time??

[G-CPTN]

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[Karearea]

NT Police Commissioner Michael Murphy has confirmed 23 US Marines have been injured following an aircraft crash on the Tiwi Islands, north of Darwin.

The Marines were on board an Osprey aircraft that crashed on the remote Melville Island, 60km off the coast from Darwin.

"Five Marines have been returned to Darwin for treatment with the remaining being triaged at the scene.

"Additional police and defence personnel have been deployed to Melville Island to support operations, triage injured people and return them to Darwin and also maintain the crash scene while investigations continue."

At least one patient is in a critical condition.

Five are currently receiving treatment at Royal Darwin Hospital (RDH).

NT Chief Minister Natasha Fyles described the crash as a "terrible incident".

She confirmed that RDH, the Northern Territory's largest hospital, has activated an emergency Code Brown alert to help respond to the crash.
...

more at link:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-27/ ... /102781722

[CharlieOneSix]

Sorry to hear about the accident but a Code Brown alert tickles my warped sense of humour...

[CharlieOneSix]

Sadly three confirmed fatalities...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-66632201

[OneHungLow]

These V22 Osprey training mission crashes seem to continue with a disturbing regularity...

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/06/09/poli ... index.html

[G-CPTN]

Are these incidents due to mechanical events or pilot 'inadequacy'?

[OneHungLow]

Are these incidents due to mechanical events or pilot 'inadequacy'?

Rest assured that the Marines will tend to the latter explanation, and have done so, in cases where the aircraft itself has clearly been mechanically flawed. By its very nature a tiltrotor is a very technically and mechanically complex aircraft.

[PHXPhlyer]

US Marines identify 3 killed in Osprey aircraft crash in Australia

Still no info on crash sequence.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/28/asia/osp ... index.html

Three US Marines who died when their Osprey aircraft crashed during a military exercise in Australia have been identified by their unit.

Corporal Spencer R. Collart, 21, Captain Eleanor V. LeBeau, 29, and Major Tobin J. Lewis, 37, were among 23 Marines on board the MV-22B Osprey when it crashed on Melville Island around 9:30 a.m. local time Sunday.

Collart was the Osprey crew chief, LeBeau a pilot and Lewis the executive officer of Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 363 (VMM-363), their unit said Monday.

“We are deeply saddened by the loss of three respected and beloved members of the MRF-D (Marine Rotational Force-Darwin) family,” said Col Brendan Sullivan, their commanding officer of the unit. “Our thoughts and prayers remain with the families and with all involved.”

Of the other 20 Marines, three are still being treated in Royal Darwin Hospital. One of them is in critical condition, the other two are stable. The remaining 17 were treated for minor injuries and released.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin offered his condolences to the families of those killed and injured.

“These Marines served our country with courage and pride, and my thoughts and prayers are with their families today, with the other troops who were injured in the crash, and with the entire USMC family,” he said on X, formerly known as Twitter.


Melville Island
The aircraft that crashed was one of two US Marine Osprey aircraft that left Darwin Sunday morning and flew towards the Tiwi Islands, about 80 kilometers away, Australia’s Northern Territory Police Commissioner Michael Murphy said.

Sullivan thanked the Australian forces and other groups who helped the Marines following the incident.

“We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the Australian Defence Force, Northern Territory Police, Northern Territory Government, CareFlight Air and Mobile Services, NT Health, National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre, and Tiwi Island Government, who have come together to assist us in this difficult time,” Sullivan said.

The crash comes just a month after four Australian army aircrew members died after an MRH-90 Taipan helicopter crashed into the sea near Hamilton Island off the east coast of Australia during an exercise that was part of joint drills with the United States.

It is the latest deadly crash to involve an Osprey aircraft. Generally, Osprey are safe to fly, but the aircraft has had a history of mechanical and operational issues since its inception in the 1980’s, CNN military analyst and retired US Air Force Col. Cedric Leighton told “CNN This Morning.”

A history of crashes
Previous crashes of Osprey aircraft, according to CNN reporting and US Defense Department news releases:

July 20, 1992: Seven people are killed during testing when an Osprey crashes in Virginia.

April 8, 2000: A crash during training in Arizona kills 19 Marines. The crash is blamed on pilot error, with investigators concluding the pilot tried to land too fast and at too steep an angle, causing a loss of lift.

December 11, 2000: Four Marines are killed when an Osprey crashes in North Carolina. The accident is later blamed on problems with a hydraulic part and a software anomaly in the aircraft’s computer system.

April 8, 2010: US Air Force Osprey crashes in southern Afghanistan, killing three US service members and one civilian employee.

April 11, 2012: Two US personnel are killed in an Osprey crash in Morocco.

June 13, 2012: An Air Force CV-22 Osprey crashes during a routine training mission north of Navarre, Florida, injuring five.

May 17, 2015: A Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey crashes at Bellows training ground on Oahu, Hawaii, leaving two Marines dead.


December 13, 2016: An MV-22B Osprey lands in shallow waters off Okinawa, Japan, injuring two.

August 5, 2017: An MV-22B Osprey crashes off the coast of Australia, leaving three Marines dead.

September 28, 2017: A Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey crashes in Syria, injuring two service members.

March 18, 2022: Four US service members are killed when the MV-22 Osprey they are traveling in crashes during NATO training exercises in Norway.

June 8, 2022: Five US Marines die after an MV-22 Osprey crashes during a training mission Wednesday near Glamis, California.

PP

[Boac]

Surely it is not surprising that an aircraft that uses a relatively new technology to operate would suffer a higher accident rate than other aircraft, both through human error and mechanical/operating issues?

I well recall the early days of the Kestrel/Harrier as a number of pilots learned how to transition from jet-borne flight to wing-borne and back again, and supervisors and maintenance crews learned the intricacies/pitfalls of the systems.

[OneHungLow]

Surely it is not surprising that an aircraft that uses a relatively new technology to operate would suffer a higher accident rate than other aircraft, both through human error and mechanical/operating issues?

I well recall the early days of the Kestrel/Harrier as a number of pilots learned how to transition from jet-borne flight to wing-borne and back again, and supervisors and maintenance crews learned the intricacies/pitfalls of the systems.

Absolutely, but I believe that the fraught political, in many cases anti tiltrotor, environment that ensued during the rollout of the V22 Osprey, inclined the Marine Corps to jump straight to the human factor in some cases while attempting to steer away from the many mechanical/technical issues that pertained to the aircraft itself, as well.