Free Republic

The United States has chosen to ground all V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft until the underlying causes of a recent crash, which took place off the coast of Japan on November 29, are fully understood. This isn't the first time issues have surfaced with the aircraft, an inventive blend of a plane and a helicopter. Despite ongoing development for over 30 years, the design continues to pose serious complications. The Pentagon announced the suspension of all operational activities involving the various Osprey variants following the tragic accident of a CV-22 off the Japanese coast on November 29. That crash resulted in...

The grounding of all Osprey tilt-rotors follows a fatal crash off the coast of a Japanese island that may be tied to a “materiel failure.”The U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps have all now grounded their respective V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor fleets. This follows a fatal crash involving an Air Force CV-22B off the coast of Japan's Yakushima Island on November 29. An investigation into the accident is still ongoing, but has found evidence already that a "materiel failure" may have been the root cause.The CV-22B, which was using the callsign Gundam 22 at the time, was conducting a routine...

Three US marines have been killed in a horror helicopter crash during military exercises in northern Australia, with five others in a serious condition. The Boeing MV-22B Osprey, with 23 people on board, went down on Melville Island in the Tiwi Islands at 9.43am local time on Sunday. Five marines were flown from the scene to Royal Darwin Hospital, arriving just before 3pm local time, with the other 18 treated at the site of the crash. 'Recovery efforts are ongoing,' the Marine Rotational Force Darwin said. 'The cause of the incident is under investigation. 'Further details will be provided as...

The ABC has confirmed multiple military personnel have been rescued from an aircraft crash site on the Tiwi Islands, north of Darwin. There are no reports of fatalities. CareFlight and NT Police have confirmed they are both responding to the incident on the remote Melville Island, 60km off the coast from Darwin. The Northern Territory government's fire incident map shows emergency services were notified about the aircraft crash at 9.43am this morning. A Defence spokesperson said the "aircraft incident" occurred during Exercise Predator’s Run 2023. "Initial reports suggest the incident involves United States defence personnel and that Australian Defence Force...

A military aircraft carrying nuclear material has crashed in California, leaving officials to believe all five passengers are dead. The plane crashed in Imperial County near Highway 78 and the town of Glamis - 30 miles north of the Mexican border, and 150 miles east of San Diego. The crash was confirmed by Naval Air Facility El Centro, 30 miles from the crash site. Officials believe at least five people were aboard at the time of the crash. Investigators have presumed all passengers are dead, according to FOX 5 reporter Malik Earnest.

Four American soldiers were killed in a plane crash during a NATO exercise unrelated to the Ukraine war, Norway’s prime minister said Saturday. Jonas Gahr Støre tweeted that they were killed in the crash on Friday night. The cause was under investigation. “The soldiers participated in the NATO exercise Cold Response,” he said. “Our deepest sympathies go to the soldiers’ families, relatives and fellow soldiers in their unit.” The plane was a V-22B Osprey that belongs to the U.S. Marine Corps, Norway’s armed forces said. “The aircraft had a crew of four and was out on a training mission in...

"We can confirm an incident has occurred involving a Marine Corps MV-22B Osprey aircraft," Maj. Jim Stenger, a U.S. Marine Corps spokesperson said in a statement. "The aircraft was conducting training in Norway as part of Exercise COLD RESPONSE 22 at the time of the incident." Stenger said the incident remains under investigation. The Second Marine Expeditionary Force later issued a statement confirming it was aware of "a mishap" with an Osprey assigned to its command. Currently there are 3,000 U.S. Marines in northern Norway participating in the Cold Response 22 NATO exercise that is described as one of the...

Myself and Mrs. Flush live in South Sacramento near the Executive Airport. Civilian aviation and the occaisional vintage warbird are common sights and sounds for us. The air traffic lines up from the southeast for the main runway and we're quite used to it. At about 8:20 this evening we heard the distinctive sound of a V-22 Osprey traveling at a moderate speed at low altitude in a southerly direction. No kidding, it rattled the house! I've checked everywhere online and cannot find anything to show an aircraft flying across this airspace. The closest active air bases are Travis and...

Records recently posted online by the FBI indicate that it did little to investigate allegations from private sources connected to Republicans about a scheme in which associates of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton tried to exploit their connection to her to profit from the turmoil in Libya in 2011. The FBI received the documents in June 2016, around the same time it launched an exhaustive, three-year investigation of the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia based, in part, on information from private sources connected to Democrats that in the main would prove to be false – the Steele dossier. ... Why...

A close friend, advisor and confidant of presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was allegedly interviewed by the FBI in connection with the controversial dossier that was used ‘in part’ as evidence by the bureau to obtain a warrant to investigate members of President Trump’s campaign team, according to several sources who spoke to this reporter. Sidney Blumenthal, a former journalist and a close friend of Clinton, was interviewed by the FBI in 2016 regarding the dossier that alleged Trump colluded with Russia, the sources stated. Department of Justice officials, however, declined to comment on Blumenthal or the dossier. FBI officials declined...

Watching the majestic osprey soar through the sky is a sight to behold. It takes a skilled photographer to shoot pictures of them when they’re flying. And an even better artist to get photos of them when they’re in the middle of hunting

Marine Aircraft Group 16 recently staged a mass-flight exercise involving more than 40 aircraft at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego, Calif. The exercise included 27 MV-22B Ospreys and 16 CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters. Here’s a look at the display of Marine Corps combat power.

Have you seen the Dos Equis “Most Interesting Man in the World” ads? Well now check out "Bill White: the Most Mysterious Liberal in the World" ad!

“Green Tops” MV-22 osprey tilt-rotor aircraft fly the President’s supporting staff and Secret Service agents. On May 23, Donald Trump traveled to New York City in one of the Presidential VH-3D helicopters operated by the U.S. Marine Corps HMX-1 (Marine Helicopter Squadron One). (video at link) The clip was probably filmed by one of the escorting U.S. Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft. In fact, “Marine One” (when President of the U.S. travels aboard the VH-3D or any other chopper operated by HMX-1, the helicopter uses the radio callsign “Marine One” by which the aircraft is known) was escorted by...

2-min YouTube video showing V-280 Valor well out of hover. Nacelles are not yet fully rotated forward, as pictured above, but clip shows project coming along nicely. Nacelles feature rotational gear overlaid with video MOSAIC, apparently this feature is still technically sensitive; Osprey nacelles rotate as an integrated unit, Valor nacelles are bisected into fixed and rotational subcomponents.

So yeah, I saw a few Ospreys while walking a couple hours ago. They were pretty damn low for military planes. Anybody know if the Marines are doing maneuvers around here, or if someone is visiting?

Family members have identified one of the Marines missing following a U.S. military aircraft crash off the coast of Australia as Ruben Velasco of Southern California. Velasco’s parents said uniformed officers came to their home over the weekend to inform them the search for their son was being called off and was now considered a recovery. ... Velasco had celebrated his 19th birthday only a few days before the crash, according to the post. The wreckage of the MV-22 aircraft, which crashed off Australia’s east coast on Saturday, was located Monday, CNN reported. “The aircraft involved in the mishap had...

US miliary officials have effectively confirmed they don't expect to find three Marines missing after their aircraft crashed off Queensland's coast alive and say recovery attempts could drag on for months. Authorities on Sunday suspended search and rescue operations less than 24 hours after their aircraft crashed off Queensland's coast while trying to land. The US Navy and Marine Corp - with help from the Australian Defence Force - are now focusing their efforts on salvage and recovery, which they warn could take several months. The three missing marines' next-of-kin have been notified, the Marine base Camp Butler in Japan...

A MASSIVE search is underway after a Marine Corps aircraft crashed off the coast of Australia. Military officials said in a statement an MV-22 crashed off the east coast of Australia. It’s unclear how many service members were on board.

The U.S. Central Command said in a statement Sunday that another service member was injured in a "hard landing" in a nearby location. An MV-22 Osprey aircraft used in the raid was unable to fly afterward and "was then intentionally destroyed in place." "Americans are saddened this morning with news that a life of a heroic service member has been taken in our fight against the evil of radical Islamic terrorism," President Trump said in a statement. "The sacrifices made by the men and women of our armed forces, and the families they leave behind, are the backbone of the...