MV-22 Osprey machines combine the advantages of a helicopter with an airplane. Now such a military aircraft of the US armed forces has crashed in California. According to a report, four people died. It is not the first serious accident of this kind.
A US military plane with five soldiers on board has crashed in southern California. “We can confirm that a plane from the third Marine Aircraft Wing crashed near Glamis,” an army spokesman said. “Five Marines were on board the aircraft and we are awaiting confirmation of the status of all crew members.” According to a report by the Los Angeles Times, there are at least four fatalities.
The army spokesman initially did not comment on the possible cause of the accident. The crash site is about 35 kilometers from the border with Mexico and a good 200 kilometers east of San Diego. The military denied initial reports that the plane had loaded radioactive material.
The machine was an MV-22 Osprey. The model combines the advantages of an airplane with a helicopter. It takes off and lands vertically like a helicopter using rotors, and then flies like an airplane. The main purpose of the machine is to rescue soldiers and civilians quickly and safely from danger zones.
The Osprey can reach speeds of over 600 kilometers per hour, twice as fast as the Vietnam-era CH-46 helicopter that the VTOL superseded. The Osprey can also fly higher and stay aloft far longer than the old helicopters. The US military has suffered several crashes of this type. Most recently, four marines died in an accident involving an Osprey machine during a NATO maneuver in Norway in March.
