https://www.defensenews.com/air/2022...-clutch-issue/
US Marine Corps isn’t grounding Osprey fleet over clutch issue
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Marine Corps said Thursday it is not grounding its
MV-22 Osprey fleet over a clutch problem, as the
U.S. Air Force did earlier this week.
The service has known about the issue with hard clutch engagement since 2010, and has trained its pilots how to respond when such emergencies happen, Marine Corps spokesman Maj. Jim Stenger said in a statement to reporters…..
Air Force Special Operations Command said that because it’s unsure what is behind these clutch issues, commander Lt. Gen. Jim Slife did not feel comfortable flying them, and therefore grounded them to figure out the root cause and how to stop the problem.
But the Marine Corps feels this is an issue that can be managed by training aircrews on how to respond, and that the potential for an occurrence is common knowledge among its fleet personnel. Officials said there were no injuries associated with the Corps’ hard clutch engagement incidents, although some gear boxes or engines were replaced as a result…..
The Marines have a fleet of about 296 Ospreys, and have flown them for 533,000 flight hours.
The V-22 program has experienced a total of 15 instances of hard clutch engagement, including 10 in Marine Corps Ospreys, since 2010, the defense official said.
The Navy confirmed Thursday it has not experienced this problem with its CMV-22 variant, which is the newest in the Osprey fleet and began its first deployment last August….