Another US Marines aircraft down

a reply to: EternalShadow

If you want to compare apples to oranges, then go for it. That versatile C-130, that can't even come close to doing what they're doing with the Osprey has lost 14 aircraft to crashes from 2000-2017, just with the US military. That's twice the accident rate of the Osprey.

So when one of any other type of plane crashes, that proves it sucks too, right? So every plane ever built must suck, because they've all crashed, except the brand new ones.

According to a report by NBC, it sounds like she was trying to land on the USS Green Bay, a San Antonio class landing dock. According to the report, Green Bay launched small boats immediately, and an SH-60 came off the Bonhomme Richard, but the pad on the Green Bay was damaged and rendered inoperable.

www.nbcnews.com...

a reply to: seasonal

Just a question, why so many mil bases in a Allies country?

To remind allies that their democracies are ruled by US Corporatocracy.

The search effort has ended and shifted to a recovery effort.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: EternalShadow

Almost all of the Osprey accidents that have happened recently, and there haven't been many, have been pilot error. It has proven itself to be quite useful and versatile.

I met two Osprey pilots at an air show at Langley AFB (along with one BEAUTIFUL airplane stunt lady) and they both said they were difficult aircraft to fly. I distinct ctly remember one of them making the comment that fighter jets were easy to fly compared to the Osprey because of the power they could pretty much get out of any bad situation.

They weren't dogging the Osprey per se, more talking up the pilots who fly them.

FWIW

a reply to: Tempter

It's neither fish, nor fowl, and has the abilities of both. It's like the Harrier. They put their best pilots in it, and had no losses, so they put less experienced pilots, and they fell out of the sky. So they put helicopter pilots in them, thinking their experience hovering would help, and they did great in the vertical portion of flying it, but sucked at the horizontal part. You have to be nice to them, or they'll bite you.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: Tempter

It's neither fish, nor fowl, and has the abilities of both. It's like the Harrier. They put their best pilots in it, and had no losses, so they put less experienced pilots, and they fell out of the sky. So they put helicopter pilots in them, thinking their experience hovering would help, and they did great in the vertical portion of flying it, but sucked at the horizontal part. You have to be nice to them, or they'll bite you.

When did they start putting helo drivers in them? The guys I talked to were in the year 2000, maybe 1999.

a reply to: Tempter

This was the Harrier, back when they first got them. They were trying to stop the hemorrhaging after they put less experienced pilots in them and they stayed falling out of the sky. The Osprey is easier to fly, but could very easily gone the same way.

a reply to: glend

BOOOOOOO.....DISQUALIFIED


This is a serious and sad topic, please keep your political opinions away and show some respect

Sad news indeed. Do you know roughly how far off shore this incident took place Zaph. I am just wondering about the depth of the water they were in and what the recovery effort will be like.
Will they try and get the Osprey back to the surface if possible to see what happened, once all missing personnel have been recovered ( that's assuming they are still in the aircraft )

originally posted by: Zaphod58
The search effort has ended and shifted to a recovery effort.

Thoughts for the three marines lost..

a reply to: nelloh62

I'm not sure how far out they were, but they've recovered aircraft from deep. They recovered a CH-46 I think it was from something like 15,000 feet down, and several F-18s from a couple miles down.

So it sounds like it’s a bit silly using either a helicopter or fixed-wing pilot in these things. More like they need people to be trained early on in their careers to fly hybrids. Compared to a Chinook, the Osprey is clearly much faster and has a longer range of operation, so it is likely more difficult to fly. I guess some accidents come down to mechanical problems either on the craft itself or where it’s landing or taking off from, occasionally weather or brownout problems as well, but in this case pilot error would surely be likely if they’re not specifically trained for a hybrid. Actually, and without meaning to speculate with little facts available, given that the Osprey is capable of both vertical and short take-off and landing, this is another area in which pilots long-used to one thing might not be comfortable with the other, particularly in respect of an aircraft carrier which is probably considerably harder than an airstrip. Honestly though, speed and range aside the Chinook seems to be more apt in some scenarios due to its larger cargo capacity, I suppose it comes down to the particular combat parameters.

The Australian Navy is sending a salvage ship and divers to assist in the recovery of the aircraft, and to search for the three missing. One of the three is the crew chief of the aircraft, Nathan Ordway. They also have air assets helping to look for them, and more on standby if necessary.

mobile.abc.net.au...

Bit more here..
9News

a reply to: Zaphod58

Just a quick update: The Royal Australian Navy ship Melville has reportedly located the crashed aircraft. They reckon the recovery operation could last several months.

af.reuters.com... rs%2FAFRICAWorldNews+%28News+%2F+AFRICA+%2F+World+News%29&&rpc=401

a reply to: nelloh62

It usually takes at least several weeks depending on depth and conditions, and shape of the airframe. Good that they found it already though.

They're going to send submersibles down today to do the initial survey before they send divers down.

They just announced a $50M+ contract modification to Boeing and Bell to improve readiness and upgrade the Osprey fleet. One of the modifications will include improved displays and navigation data.

1st LT Benjamin Cross, Cpl Nathan Ordway, and Pfc Ruben Velasco were killed in the crash.