Osprey Down
The local paper reported that a CV- 22 Osprey went down in Afghanistan with four dead:
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — A CV-22 Osprey from Hurlburt Field crashed in southeastern Afghanistan Thursday night, killing three service members and one government contractor.
The Osprey, an Air Force tilt-rotor aircraft that can take off and land as a helicopter, went down about 7 miles from Qalat, the capital of Zabul province, a NATO news release said. It was carrying U.S. forces.
“Numerous other service members” were injured and were taken to a nearby military base for treatment, NATO said.
The aircraft was assigned to the 8th Special Operations Squadron, so the names that will be released tomorrow will probably be of some of my neighbors. The area was getting hyped for the big air show that is part of the Eglin celebration, and now the missing man formation will be inserted.
5 comments
Forgive me for reasserting that some things were never meant to fly…
My sincere sympathies go out to the families of the deceased servicemembers.
.-= last blog ..Basketball Team Drinks, Gets Thoroughly Pissed =-.
My heart goes out to all the families.
.-= last blog ..this american life and pro-publica =-.
Steve, I’m sure it was a problem with the Osprey, either engine failure from the dust, or a transition problem. You can’t autogyro the Osprey like a helicopter, and you can’t land unless the engines are pointed up. I have never liked the aircraft, and never seen the cost justified.
I doubt that the Taliban had anything to do with it, as shooting at Special Ops birds is not recommended by insurance agents.
It now looks like it was senior members of the squadron. There aren’t that many Senior Master Sergeants or Majors in an Air Force squadron.
My condolences to all the families. It’s a tragedy for many reasons.
It was on our news, and I looked at a few knowledgeable blogs/news sources about the incident.
The DEW Line: CV-22 Osprey down in Afghanistan
I see the NYT is continuing the fine editorial standards of MSM in the USA. They think the Osprey has jet engines. (the somehow concluded that ‘turboprops’ means jets). 😐 🙄
(highlighting mine)
NATO Aircraft Crashes in Afghanistan
Morons.
Yes Bryan, if it was a senior crew as you say, the loss is very high indeed. Even if they had nothing to do with it (and I also doubt they did), it’s a win for the Taliban. 🙁
Rest in Peace fellows.
My guess would be engine failure due to dust and debris kicked up after transition to vertical flight.
Oh, the US doesn’t have any operational non-jet helicopters. They are all turboshaft or turboprop equipped.