Posted on 12/09/2024 11:26:11 AM PST by BenLurkin
WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon is temporarily pausing flights again of its fleet of V-22 Ospreys after weakened metal components possibly played a role in another near crash, the latest setback for an embattled aircraft whose safety problems have grown.
The pause was recommended last week “out of an abundance of caution” by Vice Adm. Carl Chebi, the head of Naval Air Systems Command, which runs the Osprey program for the military, said command spokeswoman Marcia Hart.
The Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force are adhering to the recommended pause, each said in a statement to The Associated Press. The Marines said its pause began on Friday and would run through Monday. The other services are expected to maintain their pauses longer as they look at the cause of the metal failures.
An in-depth investigation into the Osprey by The AP published last month found that safety issues have increased in the past five years, parts are wearing out faster than expected and that the design of the aircraft itself is directly contributing to many of the accidents. The Osprey can fly both like a helicopter and an airplane.
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
They need to go back to the drawing board...That’s what Wile E. Coyote would do.
Let Elon’s people design a new one. It’ll work right day one............
That aircraft is a menace. It killed a friend and ROTC unit-mate of mine early in its service life. I would under no circumstances be eager to ride in one.
Time to rethink V/STOL military aviation and go with safer, better proven technologies.
VTOL craft will never be practical until anti-grav technology is used - :)
My parents bought us kids a book on aviation back in the 70’s that showed tilt wing aircraft like the Osprey. Some of the experimental aircraft illustrated dated to the late 50’s.
There’s a reason nobody has fielded them in either a civilian or military role.
Saw a couple on Friday doing a few laps around the neighborhood
Scrap the program.
They have been garbage since the beginning. They were forced on the USMC by congress several years ago.
Anything which takes off and lands vertical is plagued with issues.
Just comes with the territory.
Machines that do this have a lot of vibration, an air-frame under constant torque, the power is redirect by 90 degrees usually (Osprey is the exception), everything is spinning is circles, and they have the inherent stability of a one legged chair. Then when something does go array, you are usually low and often in an urban environment or over water. What can possibly go wrong?
But... You still need to take off and land vertically in many cases, so you accept the risks.
I'm sure as time goes on and you get into material fatigue, more issues will pop up. But so was the case also with the CH-47, AV8-B, etc.
The fact that they identified the issue, grounded the fleet, and are making appropriate preemptive repairs shows the system is working. I would argue this is a success story.
Actually, Elon's design philosophy is not to try for perfection up front, but to improve iterations as a learning curve. Try and try again. See Spacex blowups for examples.
NASA on the other hand is paralyzed trying for perfection, and then they still get blowups.
I don't want a future where SpaceX gets it all, which would be good for a while, until SpaceX believe they no longer have to compete to get the contracts.
After retiring from a career in failure analysis and corrective action, I agree with you.
They better find a new source of supply for the gear materials though. The one they are using has either basic processing flaws or inspection escapes.
But you’ll have to take it in every 2 weeks for software updates.
I guarantee that some politician pushed for the aircraft to be adopted.
Time to dump that trash. Too problematic.
And charge it every night..................outside the hangar...........
John McCain was the huge supporter of this nightmare that has killed over 250 ocupants jacckass McCain stays around with that OSPREY NIGHTMARE
My brother the former Marine, despises these things. Had several buddies die in separate crashes.
But there is a FReeper or 2 roaming around that will defend them for some reason.
I can only go by articles I read at the time, but my recollection. is the Marines forced this on Congress not the other way around
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