CNN
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Three US Marines have been killed and several others seriously injured after an Osprey crashed during military exercises in Australia.
Naval Rotational Force-Darwin said in a statement on Sunday that three of the 23 Marines aboard the MV-22B Osprey have died while five others have been taken to the Royal Darwin Hospital in serious condition.
The accident occurred on Melville Island at 9:30 am local time.
“The Marines on board were flying in support of the Predators Run exercise. Recovery efforts are continuing,” the statement said, adding that the cause of the accident is under investigation.
Earlier, Northern Territory Premier Natasha Files said some other Marines were being treated at the scene.
“We’re working hard and as fast as we can to make sure we can get people to treatment,” Files said.
After an incident like this one, it’s common to announce a halt to operations, when officials ground a fleet of aircraft while conducting an investigation into the incident, CNN military analyst and retired US Air Force Colonel Cedric Layton told CNN Sunday. morning.”
Leighton said it was too early to say whether the accident was due to a mechanical failure or some other problem.
Michael Murphy, Australian Northern Territory Police Commissioner, said two US Marine Ospreys left Darwin and headed for the Tiwi Islands, about 80 kilometers away, on Sunday morning. He added that one of the two planes crashed on Melville Island.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marls expressed their condolences in a joint statement.
Australian and American staff have stood side by side for more than a century. “Our alliance is built on these enduring bonds and our shared values,” Albanese and Marls said.
Layton said joint military exercises like this one aim to enhance communication and coordination between partners.
“There is a lot of coordination that goes along with these exercises,” he said. “The Australians are wonderful partners, and these exercises are invaluable in providing security in the Pacific region.”
This is the latest Fatal crash of an Osprey planewith many reported accidents involving military Osprey aircraft over the years.
In the year 2022, five US Marines die after their MV-22B Osprey crashes during a training mission near Glamis, California. That same year, four American service members were killed when their Osprey crashed during a NATO training exercise in Norway.
The accident comes just one month later Four Australian Army crew members died After an MRH-90 Taipan helicopter crashed into the sea near Hamilton Island off the east coast of Australia during a training exercise that was part of joint exercises with the United States.
In general, the Osprey is considered safe to fly, but the aircraft has a history of mechanical and operational problems, since its inception in the 1980s.
Previous Osprey crashes, as reported by CNN and Pentagon news releases:
July 20, 1992: Seven people were killed during testing when an Osprey crashed in Virginia.
April 8, 2000: Crash during training in Arizona kills 19 Marines. The accident was blamed on pilot error, with investigators concluding that the pilot attempted to land too quickly and at an angle too steep, causing a loss of lift.
December 11, 2000: Four US Marines are killed when an Osprey plane crashes in North Carolina. The accident was later blamed on problems with the hydraulics and a software anomaly in the aircraft’s computer system.
April 8, 2010: A US Air Force Osprey has crashed in southern Afghanistan, killing three US soldiers and a civilian employee.
April 11, 2012: Two American soldiers were killed in an Osprey plane crash in Morocco.
June 13, 2012: An Air Force CV-22 Osprey crashed during a routine training mission north of Navarre, Florida, injuring five people.
May 17, 2015: A Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey crashes at Bellows Training Ground in Oahu, Hawaii, killing two Marines.
The US Osprey is wrecked in the ocean off Okinawa
December 13, 2016: An MV-22B Osprey crash-lands in shallow waters off Okinawa, Japan, injuring two people.
August 5, 2017: An MV-22B Osprey crashes off the coast of Australia, killing three Marines.
September 28, 2017: A Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey has crashed in Syria, injuring two service members.
March 18, 2022: Four American service members were killed when the MV-22 Osprey they were traveling in crashed during a NATO training exercise in Norway.
June 8, 2022: Five US Marines have died after an MV-22 Osprey crashed during a training mission Wednesday near Glamis, California.
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