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The Pentagon is temporarily ceasing V-22 Osprey flights after an investigation determined the aircraft’s weakened metal components likely contributed to a near-crash last month, adding yet another setback for the contested aircraft.
Vice Adm. Carl Chebi, head of the Naval Air Systems Command, recommended the temporary flight ban of Ospreys last week “out of an abundance of caution,” command spokeswoman Marcia Hart said. Chebi’s unit runs the Osprey program for the military.
The Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force are following the recommended pause, each said in a statement. The Marines said its pause began on Friday and would run at least through Monday. The other branches are expected to prolong the pause as they investigate the cause of the metal failures.
Safety issues have plagued the Osprey program over the last five years, according to an investigation by The Associated Press. Parts of the aircraft have been wearing out faster than anticipated and even its design — a blend between a helicopter and an airplane with wings extending on either side that feature helicopter propellers standing upright at the wingtips — has played a role in many of the accidents.
In the wake of The AP report, lawmakers sent a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin asking him to reground the Osprey fleet until the safety and design issues identified are properly handled or solved.
In November, an Osprey nearly crashed at the Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico. It was eerily similar to a crash that killed eight Air Force Special Operations Command service members off the coast of Japan almost a year to date earlier.
The ongoing probe into the Japan crash found that weakened spots in the metal used for key gears in the transmission had caused the gearing to collapse mid-flight, leading the entire aircraft to fail. The crew had no idea how serious the failure was and did not immediately attempt to land.
The deteriorating metal is called X-53 VIMVAR. Investigators found that the gear that failed had numerous inclusions, or microscopic weak spots in the metal caused by foreign substances getting mixed in during the manufacturing process.
The Japan crash investigators reported that the gears had cracked a staggering seven times before and determined that it was likely caused by the same inclusions.
The crew in the New Mexico emergency — having learned from the errors in the Japan crash — were able to immediately land when their aircraft received similar warnings shortly after takeoff. They lost an engine, but the entire crew survived unscathed.
Just like with the Japan crash, an initial review found a similar metal weakness that caused a different part of the aircraft to fail.
Lt. Gen Michael Conley, AFSOC commander, paused all Osprey training flights per the NAVAIR’s recommendations, “which allows time and space for us to understand what happened,” Lt. Col. Becky Heyse, command spokeswoman, said in a statement.
The military and Bell Flight, the company that assembles the Osprey and builds its transmission system at its Amarillo, Texas factory, are working on ways to strengthen the metal going forward.
Since the first Osprey took flight in 1989, 64 personnel have been killed and 93 injured in crashes.
With Post wires.
