A Boeing V-22 Osprey, jokingly known as the “widow maker,” will be grounded again after another crash.
Out of an abundance of caution, following AFSOC’s operational suspension, NAVAIR is establishing a December 6 grounding bulletin for all V-22 Osprey variants.
The decision follows the Nov. 29 incident near Yakushima, Japan, involving a V-22 Osprey involving US Air Force Special Forces aircraft AFSOC.
Preliminary information from the investigation points to a possible material failure that caused the incident, but the underlying cause of the failure is currently unknown. While the incident remains under investigation, the US Naval Air Systems Command and NAVAIR, which is responsible for the Osprey program, are implementing additional risk mitigation controls to ensure the safety of military personnel.
Today the V-22 is used mainly by the Marines, but also by the Air Force (USAF), Navy (US Navy), and the Japanese Self-Defense Forces, which were the first to find the downed Osprey and the first to suspend it. Flights with aircraft.
The high number of in-flight accidents compared to other models and the complexity of its operation with multiple aircraft (operating both as an airplane and as a helicopter) left the V-22 with a stigma of fear. Initially nicknamed the “Widow Maker”.
By NAVAIR press office