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Marines: Actually, Our Tiltrotor Is ‘Effective And Reliable’ (Never Mind Those Accidents)


Marines: Actually, Our Tiltrotor Is ‘Effective And Reliable’ (Never Mind Those Accidents):


The Marine Corps has responded to our story on the military’s apparent manipulation of the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor’s safety record. “No one is more focused on the safety of the Marine V-22, or any other aircraft the Marines fly, than the Marine Corps,” a statement issued Thursday by the Corps assures, “because we know that those aircraft are flown by our Marines and carry our
Marines and other coalition personnel into combat.”

The brief written statement goes on to repeat many of the Marines’ favorite talking points regarding the V-22, but mostly fails to address our specific claims. “The fact is, that since the Osprey was redesigned, the Marine Corps has not had a crash similar to the ones it experienced over a decade ago in which we lost pilots and crew,” the statement continues. “The MV-22 is now saving lives, not taking them.”

But that doesn’t necessarily mean the V-22 is “the safest tactical rotorcraft” in the Marine Corps inventory over the last decade, as one officer repeatedly told us. The Marines found reasons not to count a chain of engine problems, ground accidents and other mishaps that have damaged no fewer than 10 V-22s — some severely — and killed one crewman.

“Just because [an accident] doesn’t fall under the classification of ‘flight mishap’ doesn’t mean it isn’t taken very seriously,” the statement insists. “An aviation mishap will be categorized as ‘flight,’ ‘flight-related,’ or ‘ground’ based upon flight, intent for flight, etc. Just because it falls under ‘flight-related’ or ‘ground’ doesn’t mean it isn’t investigated or counted.”

But only by omitting officially “non-flight” incidents can the Marines claim a rate of so-called “Class A mishaps” of just 1.28 per 100,000 flight hours, compared to a rate of 2.6 for the overall Marine air fleet. And the “flight/non-flight” distinction can be a false one. One supposedly “non-flight” accident saw a V-22 take off on its own following an engine surge and crash to the ground, incurring $7 million in damage. It’s sheer luck that that accident didn’t kill the crew, but the Marines didn’t count that crash against the V-22’s official safety record.



“The Marine Corps’ aviation safety records and standards are publicly available at the Naval Safety Center Website,” the statement reads. But the Marines don’t mention this key point: for all non-fatal accidents, the Marines themselves provide the data the Naval Safety Center uses in its records — it’s not independently derived. And the Marines have a record of manipulating V-22 data.

Photo: Marine Corps

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ME HERO DYD