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An Osprey plane carrying five marinas crashed near Glamis, California, north of the Mexican border, around 12:25 local time on Wednesday.
A spokesman for the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, the California-based unit responsible for the MV-22B Osprey, declined to comment on possible fatalities. First responders and civilians are at the scene of the crash, he said.
“We ask for patience from the public as we work diligently with top officials and the unit to identify what happened this afternoon,” the Marines said in an emailed statement.
The Marines denied the posts circulating on social media claiming that the plane could have carried nuclear material. “There was no nuclear material on board the plane,” the Marines said.
Imperial County officials, where Glamis is located, were not immediately contacted for comment, but county officials wrote on social media that they were aware of a downed plane and were providing assistance. Glamis, east of San Diego, is a desert area known for its sand dunes.
Osprey planes, used by the US and Japanese military, take off and land vertically like helicopters, but fly like planes. The MV-22B, which combines the flexibility of a helicopter that can operate in a variety of environments with the speed and range of a fixed-wing aircraft, is primarily used to transport troops and equipment in support of amphibious assaults. .
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But the aircraft’s security record has been scrutinized. More than 40 people have died while flying in Ospreys since 1991.
In March, an Osprey crashed during NATO drills in Norway, killing four members of the US service. In 2017, a Marine Osprey crashed in Syria and injured two. That year, an accident in Australia also killed three Marines. In 2014, an Osprey briefly lost power while flying over the Persian Gulf, causing a sea death. One of the deadliest accidents occurred in April 2000, when all 19 Marines aboard a V-22 Osprey tipper rotor plane died.
A spokesman for Bell, which manufactures the Osprey in partnership with Boeing, said the company was waiting for details of the incident but was ready to help the Marine Corps.
The Osprey was also involved in five “Class B” setbacks in the last fiscal year, according to the Naval Safety Center, which defines it as incidents that caused property damage worth between 600,000 and 2.5 millions of dollars and which resulted in a permanent partial disability or three hospitalizations.