Wednesday, June 08, 2022

Bell Boeing MV-22B Osprey: Fatal accident occurred June 08, 2022 in Glamis, Imperial County, California

Five U.S. Marines died after their military plane crashed in a training accident in Southern California on Wednesday afternoon, authorities said.

The cause of the crash, near Glamis, California, a rural area near the Mexican border, wasn’t clear. An investigation is under way, according to the Third Marine Aircraft Wing, a Marine aviation unit.

The unit didn’t name the five Marines in a statement Thursday. 

“We mourn the loss of our Marines in this tragic mishap,” said Maj. Gen. Bradford J. Gering, the unit’s commanding general.

The unit added that the authorities were working to recover equipment from the plane, an MV-22B Osprey. The two-engine aircraft, manufactured by Boeing Co. and Bell Textron, has been involved in several fatal Marine crashes.

The Marines had been stationed at the Camp Pendleton base in San Diego County, the U.S. Marine Corps said on Twitter on Wednesday. They were members of Marine Aircraft Group 39 of the Third Marine Aircraft Wing.

Capt. Jordan Thorp, a member of the group, said that the five Marines were the only people on the plane.

Thursday flights were canceled, he said. “Everybody’s taking the day to mourn,” he said, adding that the crash had shocked the group, because “as Marines, we’re tightknit.”

Bell Textron, which makes commercial and military aircraft, said in a statement on Thursday that its teams were ready to assist the Marines. Boeing said it could not comment on the cause of the accident.

Other recent fatal crashes involving MV-22B Osprey planes include a March incident when four Marines died during a NATO training exercise in Norway. Three died in 2017 when the aircraft crashed off Australia, and four Marines died when the plane crashed in North Carolina in 2000.





A military aircraft crashed in Imperial County near the Arizona border Wednesday afternoon, killing four people, according to preliminary reports.

The U.S. Marine Corps helicopter crashed somewhere near the Glamis Dunes, around Coachella Canal Road and Highway 78, according to dispatch reports from emergency responders and Imperial County spokesperson Gil Rebollar.

“I can confirm that the county is assisting the military with a downed helicopter” near the dunes, Rebollar said when reached by phone.

Naval Air Facility El Centro confirmed on Facebook that the aircraft belonged to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing and crashed near the California town of Glamis and the Arizona border.

Radio calls from the scene taken by emergency responders indicated there may have been nuclear materials on the aircraft, but Naval Air Facility El Centro spokesperson Kristopher Haugh could not confirm that information.

However, the naval base said in a post on Facebook shortly before 3 p.m. that “contrary to initial reports, there was no nuclear material on board the aircraft. More information will be made available as we receive it.”

Local firefighters, sheriff’s deputies and other emergency responders are assisting the naval air base in El Centro. Rebollar could not say whether the military aircraft originated from the base.

Although military officials could not say whether there were any fatalities, a federal source who spoke on condition of anonymity said there had been five people aboard the helicopter and four were dead.

Rescue teams in the area were searching for a fifth person who was aboard the craft.

A military V-22 Osprey was deployed to assist in the search.






2 comments:

  1. 3d Marine Aircraft Wing = Awesome men serve our country.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Awful and tragic mishap. I was hoping for a better outcome for the Marines on board but the lack of info initially from the military was not a good sign.

    ReplyDelete