Osprey Crashed with Mechanical and Human Failure

U.S. Air Force disclosed the result of investigation on crash of a tilt rotor aircraft, CV-22 Osprey, in offshore Yakushima, Kagoshima, last November. According to the investigation, the crash was caused by a mixed failure, which was brought by a crack of metal gear and decision of a pilot who continued the flight regardless the warning. The serious accident of the aircraft, which has been receiving skepticisms on its safety, further amplified the doubt on the deployment in Japan.

A CV-22 Osprey assigned to Yokota Air Base in Tokyo disappeared from the radar in the afternoon of November 29, 2023, and its wreckage was found in the sea off Yakushima Island, Kagoshima, causing deaths of eight crew members. The aircraft was on its way from Iwakuni Air Base in Yamaguchi to Kadena Air Base in Okinawa. It was the most fatal accident of Osprey, since its deployment to Japan in 2012.

 

The report released by U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command indicated that the accident was brought by a breakdown of hardware. “The mishap was caused by a catastrophic failure of the aircraft’s drive system, resulting in an instantaneous asymmetric lift condition that was unrecoverable by the mishap crew,” says the report. The mishap was explained as a crack in a gear in the gear box on the left side of the aircraft, and its debris disturbed the transmission of power to the rotor.

 

A manmade failure was added on the malfunction of rotor. Although an indicator had been sending a warning sign with light, the pilot who were the instructor of the exercise continued the flight. “Decision making was causal, prolonging the mishap sequence and removing any consideration of an earlier landing at a different divert location,” says the report. In the background of the accident, there was a lack of communication in U.S. Force about the significance of malfunction of transmitter.

 

The government of Japan hoped that there would not be the same failure in Osprey. “The same kind of accident can be prevented by taking various measures for safety based on the causes of this accident,” said Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yoshimasa Hayashi. The Governor of Okinawa, Denny Tamaki, announced that he would continue to demand removal of Osprey from Okinawa, referring to uneasiness of the people in Okinawa about the flight of the aircraft.

 

After U.S. Marine Corp deployed MV-22 Osprey in Okinawa in 2012, the U.S. Force in Japan distributed the aircraft to other air base in Japan, including Yokota and Kisarazu, Chiba. The exercises of Osprey have been made all around Japan to reduce burden of Okinawa. However, consecutive accidents of Osprey around the world eroded credibility of the aircraft. U.S. Force grounded all the Ospreys in the world, after the accident in Yakushima, with concern of mechanical problem of the aircraft. It is pointed out that Osprey has already been an equipment which deployment is inappropriate.

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