Posts tagged as:

MV-22

Osprey Downdraft: MV-22 Wounds 10 at NYC Fleet Week

by Craig Hooper on May 31, 2010

I’ll post more on the unfortunate MV-22 NY Fleet Week accident (downdraft from an incoming Osprey blew down tree limbs that, in turn, wounded spectators–the videos here are great) in a bit, but I just wanted to remind people that the strong MV-22 downdraft is an important limitation–and, as such, it leads to operational issues […]

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In the light of the recent Afghanistan CV-22 crash,  Insidedefense.com reports this interesting CV-22 nugget: “The U.S. Air Force is investigating a CV-22 mishap that occurred at Kirtland AFB, NM, March 2, 2009,” said spokeswoman Col. Robyn Chumley. “At that time a CV-22 assigned to the 58th Special Operations Wing suffered a single engine failure […]

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Osprey Down: Four dead

by Craig Hooper on April 9, 2010

News is sketchy, but reports say that a CV-22 went down in Afghanistan.  Four are reportedly dead, many reportedly injured.  Cause unknown. CV-22s have been the quiet, successful side of the MV-22 story.  Whenever anything looked bad for the Marines’ MV-22, the Air Force CV-22s were out there doing good things. This is, of cour […]

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MV-22: Collapse the battlefield…for this?

by Craig Hooper on February 24, 2010

Somebody tell me why we need to devote a platform–worth tens of millions of dollars–to “collapse the battlefield” for the hapless new Mayor of Marjah? Zahir arrived in Marjah aboard a U.S. Marine MV-22 Osprey helicopter with a contingent of Marine officers and a small retinue of tribal elders who have been living in other […]

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PR games after MV-22 Osprey starts (another) grassfire…

by Craig Hooper on February 21, 2010

The V-22 Osprey program has a magical ability to generate “good news” just as “bad news” breaks. This PR gamesmanship has happened before.  Back in 2007, just hours after the MV-22 Osprey flubbed it’s arrival into Iraq, a CV-22 was sent out for a domestic SAR.  (Here are some details) This week, an MV-22 Osprey […]

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MV-22 Ospreys: Not helpful at home?

by Craig Hooper on January 3, 2010

Can the MV-22 Osprey help at home? Read my latest piece over at the North Country Times/The Californian. Some lessons here: First, where’s the utility? Notice how the Marine Corps has been trying to change the program narrative?  By saying that the MV-22 should no longer be considered a replacement for CH-46 helicopters–but approached as an entirely different kind of platform? In […]

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Has the Marine Corps manipulated MV-22 safety records?

by Craig Hooper on December 25, 2009

I’m looking at the Final Environmental Impact Statement (Volume II)  for the West Coast Basing of the MV-22.  It tells me, among other things, that, according to the Navy Safety Center’s Aviation Hazard Data Base, the V-22 has not suffered a single Class A mishap since FY 2001 (page 6-239). (the entire set of MV-22 EIS documents […]

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