Four people have been killed in a military plane crash in Imperial County near the Arizona border on Wednesday afternoon, officials say.
The crashed MV-22B Osprey aircraft, Cpl. Sarah Marshall, spokeswoman for the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, which piloted the aircraft. Contrary to reports on social media and initial radio calls from emergency responders, he said there were no nuclear materials on board.
According to reports from emergency responders and Imperial County spokesman Gill Repoller, the aspire fell somewhere near the Chlamyd Hills around the Coachella Canal Road and Highway 78.
Local firefighters, sheriff’s representatives and other emergency responders assisted the naval airline El Centro with the crash.
A federal source, who did not want to be named, said there were five people on board and four dead.
The crash happened at 12:25 p.m., according to 1st Marine Aircraft Wing spokesman 1st Lieutenant Duan Kampa.
There were five sailors on board when the Osprey crashed, and on Wednesday evening he said he could not yet confirm their condition.
The plane was with Marine Aircraft Group 39 at Marine Corps Air Station Camp Pendleton, Kamba said.
The Aspray is a tilter aircraft that can take off and land like a helicopter and fly like an airplane centered on its rotor.
Versions of the aircraft are flown by the Navy, Navy and Air Force to carry troops and equipment. It has higher speeds and longer distances than a helicopter, but can circle and land in the same manner.
However, the aircraft has a complex and controversial history.
In March, four North Carolina-based sailors were killed in another Aspray crash during a NATO exercise in Norway.
The death toll has risen to at least 46 on Wednesday since the military began testing solo aircraft, available crash records show. Since the Pentagon launched it in 2007, there have been eight Osprey crashes.
Marine Corps investigators made the decision after an Aspray crash in the Arabian Sea in 2014, killing its crew leader. 183 Page Report The plane crashed on take-off due to accidental launch in maintenance mode.
During development and testing, the aircraft’s lawyers argued that the Aspray would revolutionize the war due to its tiltering capabilities, but during a series of catastrophic accidents it became embroiled in corruption.
In 2001, the Marine Corps suspended the commander of its MV-22 Osprey training brigade amid allegations that he was forcing deputy officers to falsify maintenance records, according to The Times.
In a November 2000 study by the Pentagon’s top testing authority, Osprey had unusually high maintenance requirements and was plagued with problems that, if left unchecked, would become unreliable and often unavailable for work.
Two dangerous Osprey crashes in 2000 were investigated and suspended after they shattered the record of the controversial aircraft. On December 11, four sailors were killed in an accident near the New River Marine Corps Airport in Jacksonville, NC. On April 8, 19 people were killed in Arizona.
The crash near Clemis is the third military crash this month with fatalities.
Navy Lieutenant Richard Bullock, assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 113, was killed by his F / A-18E Super Hornet late Friday. The jet crashed near Drona, California., Where he was about 250 miles from the naval airport of Lemur.
On the same day, Electronics technician Class 2 John Deltoro died in a car accident while returning from training at Camp Billy Machen near Niland in Imperial County. Crashed Deltoro and five sailorsAll of them were part of the Naval Special Forces based on the West Coast.
Two of those sailors were badly wounded; The other two weekends are listed as stable, according to the Navy.
