The Pentagon believes it has identified the problem behind Osprey fatal crash and grounding of fleet

Source: Associated Press

The Pentagon believes it has identified the problem behind Osprey fatal crash and grounding of fleet

BY TARA COPP
Updated 6:16 PM EST, February 6, 2024

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon believes it has identified the mechanical failure that led to a fatal crash of an Osprey aircraft in Japan and the grounding of the fleet for two months, a U.S. defense official told The Associated Press. It is now weighing how the aircraft can be returned to service.

The Pentagon’s Joint Safety Council is now working with the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps on their plans to get Osprey crews ready to fly again, said Navy Rear Adm. Chris Engdahl, chairman of the council and commander of Naval Safety Command.

The Air Force investigation is continuing into the Nov. 29 Air Force special operations command CV-22 crash, which killed eight service members. The crash led to a rare grounding on Dec. 6 of about 400 Osprey aircraft across the three services. Japan also grounded its fleet of 14 Ospreys following the crash.

The official who said the mechanical failure had been identified declined to say what the failure was. It has opened the door to discussions on return to flight because mitigations can be put in place. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation.

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/osprey-crash-air-force-japan-marines-25735c50f2c3688a13b88eded00af1a0