NATO aircraft (Osprey) crashes in Afghanistan, killing 4

[unhappycamper]

NATO aircraft crashes in Afghanistan, killing 4
By NOOR KHAN
Associated Press Writer
Apr 9, 5:25 AM EDT

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) -- A U.S. Air Force tilt-rotor aircraft crashed in southeastern Afghanistan, killing three service members and one government contractor, NATO said Friday.

Other personnel aboard were injured and were taken to a military base for treatment, NATO said.

The CV-22 Osprey went down about 7 miles (11 kilometers) from Qalat, the capital of Zabul province, NATO said. The cause of the crash was under investigation.

The Osprey takes off and lands as a helicopter, but its engines roll forward in flight, allowing it to fly faster than a standard helicopter.

A Zabul government spokesman, Mohhamed Jahn Rasuliyar, confirmed the crash and casualty figure.


Rest of Stripes article at: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_AFGHANISTAN?SITE=DCSAS&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT



unhappycamper comment: To date one thousand forty American soldiers have been killed in the continuing occupation of Afghanistan --> http://icasualties.org/OEF/index.aspx

[Recursion]

1. Can we please just end the V-22 fiasco now?

What the hell will it take to convince the Pentagon that this is an awful idea? The damn thing only has one gun, and that faces backwards and only fires when the door is open.

[LLStarks]

2. The Osprey is a miserable aircraft. If it was more heavily armed, it would be great for evacs. nt

[Recursion]

3. I had this argument, over and over again, with an avionics tech

Him: "It's perfect for insertions and evacs, because it can do VTOL"
Me: "But it's not an aircraft for a tactical environment. It's too fragile"
Him: "Sure, nobody's saying this thing is going to land hot"
Me: "Then why does it need VTOL?"

[hack89]

11. This is the first fatal crash in 10 years

It has been flying in combat since 2007 with much success.

The Ospreys deployed to Afghanistan have a belly mounted gatling gun with 360 coverage in addition to the rear facing gun.

[Recursion]

12. Good to know

My brushes with the Osprey were back in the early 00's. I was not impressed.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

4. My surprise comes from ...

learning, here, that this Osprey was being operated by the USAF. I had thought until now that it was used exclusively by the USMC.

USAF operations of the Osprey

I'm sorry about the crash. This plane does seem to have had a troublesome development. I suspect that if they can perfect the concept, they'll have something good. The problem is, that's taking a while. Who opposed buying the Osprey? Dick Cheney.

I don't have the time now to see if the Wikipedia site links to the 60 Minutes report on the Osprey. Here's something from 2007 from the CBS Evening News.

Can The 'Osprey' Fly?

[Recursion]

5. Wow, I missed that

I had no idea the Osprey was being foisted on other branches, either. One day I'm going to find out whose cousin had the contract to build it.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

14. Yes.

This was a CV-22. The Marines operate the MV-22. Actually, the B version of each. No one told me, but I'm always the last to know.

[hack89]

13. They are special ops birds and have been flying operationally since 2008

They flew six of them in Iraq to support special ops in 2009.

[Mari333]

6. knr who in gods name would unrec this

[WillyT]

7. Not Me !!! - K & R !!!

:kick:

[unhappycamper]

8. I usta think these things cost $70 million - not so.

The good old Air Force Times accidentally let the cat out of the bag:

http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2010/04/ap_osprey_crash_040910/

Osprey crashes in Afghanistan, killing 4

By Noor Khan - The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Apr 9, 2010 10:24:30 EDT

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — An Air Force Osprey aircraft crashed in southeastern Afghanistan, killing three service members and one government contractor, NATO said Friday. It was the first crash of the costly, tilt-rotor aircraft in a combat zone.

The CV-22 Osprey went down about 7 miles from Qalat, the capital of Zabul province, NATO said. The cause of the crash was under investigation. Other personnel aboard were injured and were taken to a military base for treatment, NATO said.

~snip~

The original program, a $40 billion joint venture of Boeing Co. and Textron Inc.'s Bell Helicopter unit, was beset by delays and plagued by design flaws and other problems.

It was nearly canceled several times due to cost overruns — which pushed the bill to over $100 million per aircraft — and a series of fatal crashes and other incidents. In 2000, a crash in Arizona killed all 19 Marines aboard and a separate crash killed four Marines in Florida.

[tekisui]

9. knr

[Echo In Light]

10. k/r