Osprey Fleet Grounded After Fatal Crash
Dec. 13 -- Despite troubles the military has been having with the MV-22 Osprey program, the The Marine Corps’ chief of aviation says thecrash of the still-experimental MV-22 Osprey in North Carolina should not be a “showstopper” for the troubled $40 billion program.
It appears increasingly likely, however, that it will be up to the nextadministration to decide whether to build a full fleet. So far, the Marine Corps already has spent $10 billion on the program.
The Marines plan to buy 360 over the next 14 years toreplace aging helicopters. Three of the first 15 delivered -including prototypes and experimental models—have been involvedin fatal crashes, including two this year that reduced the fleet ofoperational models from 10 to eight.
Lt. Gen. Fred McCorkle, head of Marine aviation, said he remains confident in the safety of the Osprey, noting that the Arizona crash had been caused by human error, not mechanical failure. He declined to speculate on the cause of Monday’s accident.
“This program is very, very important to the Marine Corps, tome and I think to the nation, and we’re going to work very hard tofind out what happened,” he said at a news conference.
“I don’t think this will be a show-stopper,” he said,when asked if the program could be canceled.
McCorkle said he remained confident in the Osprey, despite thesecond fatal crash this year.
Mayday Call
Monday’s crash in North Carolina follows an accident last spring involving an Osprey in Arizona in which 19 Marines died.
The pilot radioed a mayday to the MarineCorps Air Station at New River around 7:30 p.m., just before the hybrid tilt-rotor plane went down in dense woods in southeastern North Carolina, officials said.
Rescuers reached the area around 11 p.m., officials said. Marine rescue helicopters from Air Station Cherry Point assisted the military and civilian rescue personnel in the area, said Capt. James Rich.
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