Investigators are looking at the gearbox in deadly U.S. Air Force Osprey crash
The investigation into yet another deadly crash of a U.S. military Osprey aircraft in late November is looking at a possible mishap involving the aircraft’s propeller rotor gear box, U.S. officials say.
The investigation into yet another deadly crash of a U.S. military Osprey aircraft in late November is looking at a possible mishap involving the aircraft’s propeller rotor gear box, U.S. officials familiar with the preliminary findings say.
The accident, in which a U.S. Air Force V-22 Osprey crashed into the ocean off Japan, killing eight airmen, was the fourth fatal crash of the unique tiltrotor aircraft in less than two years. Twenty U.S. service members have died in the incidents, leading to a rare grounding in December of all Osprey aircraft by all branches of the U.S. military.
The cause of the crash off Japan is still under investigation and has not been established, according to those familiar with the investigation.
In a statement after initial publication of this article, a spokesperson for Air Force Special Operations Command told NBC News that investigations into the incident "are still actively in progress and analysis is ongoing to determine the cause of the mishap. At this time, the material failure that occurred is known but the cause of the failure has not been determined. ... Any disclosure of findings prior to investigations being finalized is premature and presumptive."
Ospreys can take off vertically like helicopters, but then tilt their two rotors to fly like dual propeller planes. The military has about 400 Ospreys that are used by the Navy, Marines and Air Force, though most are flown by the Marine Corps.
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