Three US service personnel and one civilian were killed when a US Air Force Bell Boeing CV-22 Osprey tiltrotor crashed in southern Afghanistan’s Zabul Province on 8 April.
“Numerous other service members” were also injured in the mishap, according to a statement from the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force. “The cause of the crash is unknown at this time,” it says.
The incident, which happened near Qalat City, represents the first crash to have involved an operational version of the V-22, which is also used by the US Marine Corps in the MV configuration. The Osprey programme suffered three fatal accidents prior to the hybrid aircraft entering frontline use.
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© Dennis Rogers/US Air Force |
The USAF uses the CV-22 to conduct long-range infiltration and resupply missions in Afghanistan. Its Special Operations Command received its first operational example in 2006, and had fielded 14 prior to the 8 April accident, as listed in Flightglobal’s HeliCAS database.
Source: FlightGlobal.com
