Image source: topwar.ru
Another suspension of CV-22 Osprey tiltrotor flights, introduced by the Pentagon last year, had a "significant" impact on the pilots and crews of the US Navy. Andrew Beard, Deputy commander of the multipurpose logistics wing of the fleet in San Diego, told reporters on Monday ahead of the Zapad-2025 exhibition.
The US Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps have suspended all flights of Osprey tiltrotor aircraft since December 6 last year until further notice. The reason for this decision is the crash of a tiltrotor off the coast of Japan on November 29, 2023. All flights are prohibited for the duration of the investigation, the resumption of operation of the CV-22 Osprey will be possible after determining the cause of the crash.
The suspension of operation of these tiltrotor aircraft coincided with the fact that it was during this period that the US Navy was switching to operating the CV-22 Osprey as the main aircraft for transporting personnel and cargo, Byrd noted.
— stated the captain.
He compared this situation to when a person is out of action for a long period of time due to health problems and as a result loses time in training and flight hours. In fact, without proper training, pilots, especially beginners, lose their qualifications, which will take considerable time to recover.
The temporary ban also affected the marine version of the CMV-22B Osprey tiltrotor, which, in addition to the Air Force, was also used by the US Navy, the Marine Corps and the Japanese military.
By the way, one of the versions of the cause of the plane crash at the Reagan airport near Washington, which Trump even managed to voice, may be mistakes by the crew of a Black Hawk military helicopter, which literally rammed a civilian airliner during its landing. At the same time, the American media reported that the combat vehicle was performing a training flight, but for some reason in the area of a civilian airport.
In an interview with reporters, Byrd said that his tiltrotor aircraft are now divided into two categories: those with a gearbox failure time of less than 400 flight hours, and those with a failure time of more than 400 flight hours. The former have more restrictions. It is with the transmission that Osprey class tiltrotor airplanes most often have problems.
One of the restrictions in force under the temporary flight permit is that you cannot be further than 30 minutes from the boarding area. This creates particularly difficult conditions for the Navy, which uses Osprey tiltrotor aircraft over the open ocean, compared to the Marines and the Air Force, which are usually located closer to shore.
This is not the first time that the command of the US Armed Forces has introduced the termination of tiltrotor flights, this procedure is used after each Osprey accident, and there have already been a lot of them. The command of the ILC, the US Air Force and the US Navy have been resolving the issue of abandoning the operation of these tiltrotor aircraft for quite some time in the event of a replacement.
