Military clears Ospreys to fly again after a series of fatal crashes

The U.S. military said Friday that despite a series of fatal crashes it deemed the V-22 Osprey aircraft safe to fly and has lifted its grounding order.

The U.S. military said Friday that despite a series of fatal crashes, it has deemed the V-22 Osprey aircraft safe to fly and has lifted the order that had kept most of the military's fleet of about 400 Ospreys grounded.

Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) ordered the entire Osprey fleet grounded more than three months ago, following the fatal Nov. 29 crash of an Air Force CV-22 Osprey off the coast of Japan that killed eight Special Operations airmen. It was the fourth fatal crash of the unique twin tiltrotor aircraft in less than two years, in which 20 U.S. service members have been killed.

The crash remains under investigation, but last month NBC News reported that investigators have zeroed in on a failure in the aircraft’s proprotor gearbox.

While officials from NAVAIR say that the crash was likely due to a material failure and they have identified the part that failed, they will not yet announce the finding publicly or disclose the timeline of events that led to the crash. During a media briefing earlier this week, officials acknowledged they are not certain why the part failed.

Col. Brian Taylor, the program manager for the V-22 Joint Program Office, which oversees Osprey use by all service branches, said that this is the first time the office has seen this particular component fail, calling it “unprecedented.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/military-clears-ospreys-fly-after-series-fatal-crashes-rcna142107

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