Sunday, May 17, 2015

1 U.S. MARINE DEAD, MORE THAN 12 INJURED IN A $100 MILLION OSPREY MV-22 FIERY CRASH AT BELLOWS AIR FORCE STATION, WAIMANALO, HAWAII



















MAY 17, 2015

BELLOWS AIR FORCE STATION, WAIMANALO, HAWAII

According to two unnamed sources, one Marine died in an MV-22 Osprey aircraft hard-landing incident Sunday morning at Bellows Air Force Station.  Bellows Air Force Station is a United States military reservation located in Waimanalo, Hawaii.  The price tag of an Osprey MV-22 is at least $100 million dollars.  Ouch.

At least twelve Marines were injured in an MV-22 Osprey aircraft “hard-landing mishap,” which occurred at about 11 a.m. when the aircraft from the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit was conducting training, according to a news release issued the U.S. Marine Corps.

The Marine Corps said in a brief statement that 22 people were aboard the MV-22 Osprey from the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit when it had a "hard-landing mishap" during a training exercise. It gave no cause for the incident. 

The Marines initially said 12 Marines were injured. After confirming the deatgh, it said only that all 21 of the others had been taken to hospitals for assessment and treatment.

Military, police, fire and Emergency Medical Service personnel are responding to the scene at Bellows station in the Waimanalo area. The injured Marines were transported to a local hospital for treatment. 

Residents in the Kailua, Keolu Hills and Enchanted Lake areas reported seeing heavy fire and plumes of thick, black smoke rising from the Bellows area.  Bellows is used as a training area for Marines.

Marine Corps Forces Pacific is hosting 23 foreign nations at the inaugural U.S. Pacific Command Amphibious Leaders Symposium, starting Sunday and wrapping up Thursday in Hawaii. Senior military leaders of allied and partner nations are expected to attend.

The amphibious symposium, with the acronym PALS, will include group briefings and discussions, scenario-based exercises, and observation of an amphibious landing and other sea-basing exercises.

It was unclear whether the downed helicopter had been participating in the symposium exercise.

The Marine Corps’ distinctive MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft made its first appearance in Hawaii nearly two years ago.

The 57-foot-long aircraft have twin 38-foot propellers that allow the Osprey to take off like a helicopter and fly like a conventional plane with the blades rotated forward. Ospreys can carry 24 Marines twice as fast and five times farther than previous helicopters.

Two squadrons of Ospreys, a total of 24 aircraft, are scheduled to be based at Kaneohe Bay in fiscal 2015 and 2016.