US Osprey flights in Japan halted after crash

[rangerrebew]

US Osprey flights in Japan halted after crash
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By AFP     1 hour ago in World

The US Marines suspended flights of their Osprey aircraft in Japan on Wednesday as anger mounts over an accident that saw one of the hybrid planes crash off the southern island of Okinawa.

The incident came at a delicate time, with Tokyo and Washington pushing to build a new airbase on Okinawa despite local opposition against the heavy US military presence there and concerns by residents about the Osprey.

The MV-22 Osprey, a so-called tiltrotor plane that can carry 24 troops, is half helicopter half turboprop and boasts the manoeuvrability of a chopper and the speed and range of a fixed-wing aircraft.

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/news/world/us-osprey-flights-in-japan-halted-after-crash/article/481665#ixzz4Soa9yAtt

[thackney]

Thanks for posting.  This was the first article I've seen that described what happened.

The crash happened overnight after the aircraft damaged one of its propellers during an aerial refuelling drill with another plane around 10 pm Tuesday (1300 GMT), according to Marine Lieutenant General Lawrence Nicholson.

The Osprey pilot guided the violently shaking aircraft to shallow waters near US Marine base Camp Schwab, and conducted "a controlled landing" in the water to reduce injuries to crew and avoid flying over Okinawan residential areas, he told reporters.

[SZonian]

Sounds like the drogue impacted the rotors...

Not the Osprey's fault...good airmanship by the crew to get her down and save the crew.