2 Marines killed in Morocco Osprey crash
By Gina Cavallaro - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Apr 11, 2012 18:08:58 EDT
Two Marines were killed and two severely injured in the crash of an MV-22 Osprey during a training mission in southern Morocco, the Marine Corps confirmed Wednesday.
The Osprey crashed in a military training area southwest of Agadir, Morocco, after taking off from aboard the amphibious assault ship Iwo Jima, said Capt. Kevin Schultz, a Marine spokesman at the Pentagon in Washington.
The four Marines were the only personnel aboard the Osprey at the time of the crash.
The aircraft was attached to the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which deployed from Camp Lejeune, N.C., on March 29. Among the major subordinate units that belonged to the MEU was Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 261, an Osprey unit out of Marine Corps Air Station New River, N.C.
The MEU is in Morocco supporting Exercise African Lion, an annual 10-day joint exercise with Royal Moroccan Armed Forces which is being overseen this year by the 14th Marine Regiment, a Reserve artillery regiment from Fort Worth, Texas.
The event was scheduled to conclude April 17, followed by 10 days of breakdown and redeployment. More than 1,000 Marines, and about 200 soldiers, sailors and airmen from across the U.S. are participating.
This year marked the first time the bilateral exercise included a MEU.
Further information about the crash was being withheld until the next of kin were notified, said Rodney Ford, spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Rabat.
The cause of the incident was under investigation, according to a press release from U.S. AFRICOM.
Despite a rocky beginning for the Osprey more than 12 years ago with the deaths of 23 Marines in two crashes during testing, the Marine Corps has rated the MV-22 as effective in a combat environment, first fielding it in an operational capacity in Iraq in 2007.
An Air Force version of the Osprey, the CV-22, crashed in Afghanistan on April 9, 2010, marking the only fatal incident involving an Osprey in the war zone.
Two of the three cockpit crew members died attempting a night landing at a desert landing zone. Also killed were a soldier and a civilian contractor — two of 16 passengers in the cargo compartment. The co-pilot survived.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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