Watch never-before-seen video of MV-22 Osprey crash into USS Green Bay
WASHINGTON — In the summer of 2017, the USS Green Bay San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock performed a mission to Queensland, Australia. In early August [August 5th] a US Navy MV-22 Osprey multi-mission, tiltrotor military aircraft crashed while attempting to land on the ship.
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Footage of the horrific crash has emerged for the first time. The video shows that at a reduced landing speed and the execution of a landing maneuver, the aircraft fell sharply down to the ship’s deck, and the left engine tilted and hit the deck. The video is an amateur cell phone shot by a sailor aboard the USS Green Bay. Realizing [the sailor] that the situation is too dangerous, he starts running and interrupts the video.
This is evident from the recorded video footage. What is not seen, but established by now declassified video and photographic material, is that the Osprey is moving forward on the starboard side of the cockpit as the aircraft hits a steel ladder. The left propeller blades damaged the cockpit and the nearby helicopter, and the impact of the collision crushed the cockpit, breaking the hip and leg of the pilot inside. The plane then fell 30 feet into the water and with a hole in the cockpit, the plane quickly filled with water and sank nose-first.
The USS Green Bay and other similar ships have tight work areas. In reality, they [work areas] are large, but other aircraft located on them narrow the distance, leading to risky maneuvers. Each activity must be carried out precisely to the last centimeter of accuracy because very often, it is aircraft located in the working space of the ships that are full of fuel or loaded with weapons.
Such a strike could turn an aircraft like the MV-22 Osprey into a massive and devastating piece of shrapnel in size and action. The MV-22 Osprey carries fuel in this case. If the rotor blades hit the deck or any other object on it, the MV-22 Osprey becomes a deadly weapon.
Tasked authorities in the US have already conducted their investigation and reached their conclusions. The cause of this accident in early August on the deck of the USS Green Bay was heavy pressure and a lack of thrust at the time of landing of the MV-22 Osprey. All this may have been caused by the heavy weight of the MV-22 Osprey. For this reason, in recent years, the Pentagon trusted American experts. It recommended the renewal of the aircraft, with the load to be transported adjusted and the maximum load in kilograms reduced.
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