Three young Marines died and 23 escaped drowning when the Osprey crashed in 2017 (Image: What You Haven’t Seen; U.S. Marine Corps)
Dramatic images of a U.S. military crash in which a state-of-the-art hybrid plane crashed next to a warship five years ago have surfaced.
Three Marines were killed and 23 escaped drowning when the MV-22 Osprey swerved into U.S. Green Bay as it attempted to land on its deck off the coast of Australia in August 2017.
The clip, which appeared on Saturday, shows the plane hovering towards the deck before suddenly turning to one side and hitting the boat.
Air traffic controllers are seen sprinting like a rotorpade turning towards them before the person approaching them to protect themselves.
Officials say the collision crushed the cockpit, breaking the pilot’s hip and leg and piercing the hull, causing it to sink after falling 30 feet into the water.
Rescuers fished most of the 26 soldiers on board for military exercises after escaping the sinking wreck, including the pilot.
But his co-pilot, First Lieutenant Benjamin Cross, 26, and two others, Corporal Nathaniel Ordway, 21, and Private Ruben Velasco, 19, were not found after a 12-hour search.
A Pentagon investigation found that no individual personnel were to blame for the incident, although it said the Osprey probably carried too much weight.
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The plane first struggled when it did not connect to the warship’s “Tactical Air Navigation” automatic signal, forcing the surviving pilot to rely on the direction of the air traffic controllers. on the deck.
The pilot followed “correct procedures” for landing until the Osprey suddenly began to fall between 200 and 300 feet per minute, after which he and his co-pilot made a series of failed attempts. to correct its course.
One of these caused the aircraft to touch the flight deck, after which it moved “forward along the starboard side of the flight deck until the aircraft struck a steel ladder.” .
The report continued: “The left-hander’s blades damaged the flight deck and a nearby helicopter, and the impact of the collision crushed the cockpit, breaking the pilot’s hip and leg inside.
The plane crashed into the flight deck before hitting the side of the ship and sinking (Image: What you haven’t seen)
“Then the plane fell 30 feet into the water and, with a hole in the cockpit, the plane filled with water quickly and sank first.”
Being overweight probably meant the Osprey didn’t have enough forward thrust to maintain a hold against the opposing force caused by its rotor blades, officials said.
Stricter rules have been established on the weight they can carry.
Since then, two more fatal crashes by Osprey have killed nine other Marines.
Four crew members died after their plane crashed during a military exercise in Norway in March this year, while five more died in an accident in the California desert in June.
These incidents mean that the aircraft has been involved in a total of nine accidents and other incidents that have resulted in 21 deaths since it went into active service since 2017.
Co-pilot Benjamin Cross died after trying to correct the course of the Osprey (Image: US Marine Corps) Ruben Velasco, 19, was also pronounced dead after a 12-hour search (Image: Body of US Marines) Cpl. Nathaniel Ordway, 21, was the third victim of the tragic accident (Photo: US Marine Corp)
During the 15 years of testing prior to its launch, there were four more accidents that resulted in 30 fatalities.
Its design is appreciated for combining the takeoff agility of conventional helicopters with the long-range flight capabilities of propeller aircraft, but it is more difficult to fly.
Advertising about deadly incidents and the high difficulty of operating the osprey have earned him a reputation for being dangerous.
However, the U.S. military has continued to keep it in service, insisting that its security history is superior to comparable alternatives.
A 2012 review found that the Osprey experienced an average of 1.12 serious incidents per 100,000 flight hours, slightly less than the 1.14 recorded by the Sea Knight helicopters it has been replacing.
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