US military lifts ban on Ospreys that began after deadly crash
Washington DC - The three-month grounding of American V-22 Ospreys implemented after a deadly crash ended Friday, with changes to maintenance allowing the tilt-rotor aircraft to return safely to flight, the US military said.
A US Osprey crashed off the coast of Japan in late November, killing all eight people on board and prompting the decision the following month to ground the aircraft, which has been involved in a series of accidents in recent years.
"Effective March 8, 2024, at 7:00 am EST, Naval Air Systems Command is issuing a flight clearance for the V-22 Osprey, thereby lifting the grounding," NAVAIR said in a statement on its website.
"This decision follows a meticulous and data-driven approach prioritizing the safety of our aircrews," the command said, adding that "maintenance and procedural changes have been implemented to address the materiel failure" that led to the crash, allowing "for a safe return to flight."
The Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) said that following the NAVAIR announcement, it is "implementing a multi-phased approach to ensure our aircrew, maintainers and aircraft are ready to resume flight operations."
It will begin with ground and simulator training, followed by a multi-month program to improve proficiency, and then a return to "full mission profiles, multi-lateral exercises, and operational taskings and deployments," AFSOC said in a statement.
Osprey aircraft have been involved in several fatal accidents
Osprey aircraft – which can take off and land vertically like a helicopter and also fly like an airplane – have suffered a string of fatal accidents, including a crash in northern Australia that killed three US Marines in August and another in Norway during NATO training exercises in 2022 that left four dead.
Three Marines were killed in 2017 when another Osprey crashed off Australia's north coast, and 19 Marines died when their Osprey crashed during drills in Arizona in 2000.
The United States temporarily grounded the aircraft in Japan in 2016 after an Osprey crash-landed off Okinawa, sparking anger among locals.
Cover photo: Yuichi YAMAZAKI / AFP