USMC V-22 Crash

Military aircraft accidents/mishaps.
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by Asif » 12 Apr 2012, 15:21

MarineCorpTimes wrote:2 Marines killed in Morocco Osprey crash
By Gina Cavallaro - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Apr 12, 2012 9:21:15 EDT

Two Marines were killed and two severely injured in the crash of an MV-22 Osprey during a training exercise in southern Morocco, the Marine Corps confirmed Wednesday.

The Osprey took off from amphibious assault ship Iwo Jima and crashed moments after dropping off Marines at an inland location near Cap Draa, a military training area southwest of Agadir, Morocco.

The aircraft belonged to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 261, an Osprey unit out of Marine Corps Air Station New River, N.C., and was attached to the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which deployed from Camp Lejeune, N.C., on March 29.

The four victims were the only personnel aboard at the time of the crash. They received immediate care from Navy medical personnel on the ground before being evacuated by KC-130 transport planes to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, according to a 24th MEU news release.

The MEU is in Morocco supporting Exercise African Lion 12, an annual 10-day joint exercise with Royal Moroccan Armed Forces that is being overseen this year by the 14th Marine Regiment, a Reserve artillery regiment from Fort Worth, Texas.

“Being a Marine is inherently dangerous, but this is a shock to all of us,” MEU commander Col. Frank Donovan said in the news release. “We send our prayers and condolences to the families of these Marines and mourn with them through this tragic event.”

The event is scheduled to conclude Tuesday, followed by 10 days of breakdown and redeployment. More than 1,000 Marines and about 200 soldiers, sailors and airmen from across the U.S. are participating.

This year marked the first time the bilateral exercise included an MEU, which will continue its participation in spite of the mishap, the news release said.

The 24th MEU is on a regularly scheduled, eight-month deployment to serve as a theater reserve and crisis response force. African Lion 12 was its first exercise following its trans-Atlantic voyage.

Despite a rocky beginning for the Osprey more than 12 years ago with the deaths of 23 Marines in two crashes during testing, the Marine Corps has rated the MV-22 as effective in a combat environment. It first fielded it in an operational capacity in Iraq in 2007.

An Air Force version of the Osprey, the CV-22, crashed in Afghanistan on April 9, 2010, and marked the only fatal incident involving an Osprey in the war zone.

Two of the three cockpit crew members died attempting a night landing at a desert landing zone. Also killed were a soldier and a civilian contractor — two of 16 passengers in the cargo compartment. The co-pilot survived.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

source: http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/20 ... h-041112w/
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by Asif » 12 Apr 2012, 16:06

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