CommunityEditor
03-25-2009, 08:36 PM
All 84 of the U.S. military’s V-22 Ospreys were temporarily grounded Saturday after the discovery of loose bolts on the aircraft by Marines in Iraq, officials said.
The grounding affected all V-22s, including the Corps’ aircraft and the 11 CV-22s the Air Force operates, said Mike Welding, spokesman for the V-22 program at Navy Air Systems Command. As of Tuesday morning, 76 of the 84 aircraft had been cleared to fly, with problems discovered on four Ospreys operated out of Al Asad Air Base, Iraq, by Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 266 out of Marine Corps Air Station New River, N.C.
The loose bolts were discovered by VMM-266 mechanics after a pilot noticed a vibration and heard a “loud noise” after a routine flight, Welding said.
An inspection revealed that four loose bolts had separated from a stationary swashplate trunnion and a gimbal ring on the drive tube, causing “minor damage” to the engine’s pitch links and spinner support, he said. The swashplate has a rotating and stationary plate, and translates a pilot’s commands to the rotors in motion.
“If this thing comes apart, then you lose control of the prop rotor,” said Welding, who declined to categorize the incident as a “near-miss.”
“We want to stress that this has not happened in flight,” he said. “This (grounding) was a precautionary measure.”
All 11 CV-22s stationed at Hurlburt Field, Fla., were inspected and cleared to fly on Tuesday and had almost no effect on training operations, said Don Arias, an Air Force Special Operations Command spokesman.
The Air Force has yet to deploy its CV-22s to Iraq.
No V-22s have been deployed to Afghanistan, though Marine Commandant Gen. James Conway said the aircraft is “made for Afghanistan” and could be sent there later this year.
No problems had been discovered on MV-22s in the U.S., which are based out of New River. Two of the four Ospreys with issues in Iraq had been repaired and cleared to fly, he said.
The incident is the latest for the V-22, which has been considered a success in Iraq since Marines with VMM-263 first deployed with Ospreys in September 2007. The aircraft has a checkered history, however, including three fatal crashes in the 1990s and during the early part of this decade that combined to kill more than 20 Marines.
The Corps has been transforming medium-lift squadrons centered on the aging CH-46 helicopter to the Osprey since 2006, when VMM-263 was activated as the first operational MV-22 squadron. There are currently three fully operational squadrons, all based at New River: VMM-263, VMM-266 and VMM-162. Two other New River squadrons — VMM-261 and VMM-365 — also have been activated as Osprey squadrons, but are still adding aircraft and manpower and are not yet fully operational.
The Corps is also planning to add Ospreys on the West Coast beginning next year. The preferred plan calls for eight MV-22 squadrons to eventually be based at MCAS Miramar, Calif., with an additional two squadrons based at nearby Camp Pendleton. An alternative plan could also put some of the aircraft at MCAS Yuma, Ariz.
The grounding is expected to have minimal effects on Marine operations and will not alter the first ever Osprey deployment with a Marine expeditionary unit this spring, said Maj. Eric Dent, a spokesman at Marine headquarters. VMM-263 (reinforced) is preparing to deploy this spring with the Camp Lejeune, N.C.-based 22nd MEU with the Bataan Expeditionary Strike Group.
Article: http://www.militarytimes.com/news/2009/03/marine_ospreys_grounded_032509w/
The grounding affected all V-22s, including the Corps’ aircraft and the 11 CV-22s the Air Force operates, said Mike Welding, spokesman for the V-22 program at Navy Air Systems Command. As of Tuesday morning, 76 of the 84 aircraft had been cleared to fly, with problems discovered on four Ospreys operated out of Al Asad Air Base, Iraq, by Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 266 out of Marine Corps Air Station New River, N.C.
The loose bolts were discovered by VMM-266 mechanics after a pilot noticed a vibration and heard a “loud noise” after a routine flight, Welding said.
An inspection revealed that four loose bolts had separated from a stationary swashplate trunnion and a gimbal ring on the drive tube, causing “minor damage” to the engine’s pitch links and spinner support, he said. The swashplate has a rotating and stationary plate, and translates a pilot’s commands to the rotors in motion.
“If this thing comes apart, then you lose control of the prop rotor,” said Welding, who declined to categorize the incident as a “near-miss.”
“We want to stress that this has not happened in flight,” he said. “This (grounding) was a precautionary measure.”
All 11 CV-22s stationed at Hurlburt Field, Fla., were inspected and cleared to fly on Tuesday and had almost no effect on training operations, said Don Arias, an Air Force Special Operations Command spokesman.
The Air Force has yet to deploy its CV-22s to Iraq.
No V-22s have been deployed to Afghanistan, though Marine Commandant Gen. James Conway said the aircraft is “made for Afghanistan” and could be sent there later this year.
No problems had been discovered on MV-22s in the U.S., which are based out of New River. Two of the four Ospreys with issues in Iraq had been repaired and cleared to fly, he said.
The incident is the latest for the V-22, which has been considered a success in Iraq since Marines with VMM-263 first deployed with Ospreys in September 2007. The aircraft has a checkered history, however, including three fatal crashes in the 1990s and during the early part of this decade that combined to kill more than 20 Marines.
The Corps has been transforming medium-lift squadrons centered on the aging CH-46 helicopter to the Osprey since 2006, when VMM-263 was activated as the first operational MV-22 squadron. There are currently three fully operational squadrons, all based at New River: VMM-263, VMM-266 and VMM-162. Two other New River squadrons — VMM-261 and VMM-365 — also have been activated as Osprey squadrons, but are still adding aircraft and manpower and are not yet fully operational.
The Corps is also planning to add Ospreys on the West Coast beginning next year. The preferred plan calls for eight MV-22 squadrons to eventually be based at MCAS Miramar, Calif., with an additional two squadrons based at nearby Camp Pendleton. An alternative plan could also put some of the aircraft at MCAS Yuma, Ariz.
The grounding is expected to have minimal effects on Marine operations and will not alter the first ever Osprey deployment with a Marine expeditionary unit this spring, said Maj. Eric Dent, a spokesman at Marine headquarters. VMM-263 (reinforced) is preparing to deploy this spring with the Camp Lejeune, N.C.-based 22nd MEU with the Bataan Expeditionary Strike Group.
Article: http://www.militarytimes.com/news/2009/03/marine_ospreys_grounded_032509w/