The US military has suspended all operations of its V-22 Osprey aircraft again following a near-crash in New Mexico late last month.
The decision, recommended by the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), was made “out of an abundance of caution” after an Osprey was forced to make an emergency landing at Cannon Air Force Base on November 20 following the loss of an engine.
No casualties were reported from the incident.
However, preliminary investigations revealed that the cause of the near crash had some similarities to last year’s incident off the coast of Japan, which killed eight US soldiers.
The crew in the Cannon flight reportedly received warnings similar to those in the previous tragedy, but lessons learned from that incident may have aided their decision to quickly land the Osprey and survive.
Subsequent investigations determined that metal fatigue was the root cause of the incident, but in a different part of the aircraft than what failed in the Japan crash.
Response
Following the NAVAIR recommendation, a US Navy spokesperson confirmed that the service is grounding its entire CMV-22B Osprey fleet until all safety concerns are addressed.
“The safety of our CMV-22B aircrew is our top priority,” the spokesperson stated. “We are committed to ensuring our sailors and airmen are able to successfully complete their missions and return home safely.”
For the US Marine Corps, a 96-hour operational pause has been implemented for non-essential flight operations.
A representative explained that the pause would provide time to assess whether additional measures are needed to ensure safe flight operations in the future.
While the US Navy and Marine Corps have fully grounded their Ospreys, the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) has opted to allow restricted flight operations under specific conditions.
The pause “allows time and space for us to understand what happened in the most recent event before we accept risk with unknown variables,” AFSOC stressed.
Troubled Fleet
The near-crash in New Mexico adds to a series of issues that have plagued the Bell Boeing-manufactured V-22 Ospreys.
From March 2022 to November 2023, the aircraft was involved in four fatal crashes, with the incident off Japan sparking controversy after the US Air Force blamed it on the pilot’s poor decision-making.
Until the recent incident, the tiltrotor aircraft was still operating under a limited envelope to closely monitor its performance.
Since its introduction into the military three decades ago, the tiltrotor aircraft has been involved in crashes that have resulted in more than 60 fatalities and 93 injuries.