Analysis: US military aircraft crash latest to affect V-22 Osprey

ANALYSIS: The type of aircraft involved in the latest military training tragedy off the Queensland coast was already linked to dozens of deaths.

The MV-22 Osprey has a chequered history.

THEY call it the “widowmaker”.

The $70 million V-22 Osprey — the same aircraft that crashed at Shoalwater Bay near Rockhampton overnight — has been a regular feature of US Marine Corps deployments to Australia since 2013.

But last year, the Americans left their most impressive (and crash-prone) piece of military hardware at home.

That decision came amid sensitive discussions about who pays for the annual marine rotations to Australia. It also came amid new safety concerns.

Just months before the marines put boots on the ground in Darwin, two Super Stallion helicopters collided during a training exercise in Hawaii.

An investigation into that crash highlighted significant issues.

It found the underlying causes included the flight squadron suffered “severe readiness problems” like not getting enough hours and parts shortfalls.

The MV-22 Osprey has a chequered history. Picture: Wesley Monts

Aircraft had to be “cannibalised” — which means parts were taken from other aircraft — in order to get enough to fly in Darwin in 2015.

In the aftermath of the January 2016 crash, the focus was on the Super Stallion. But when the marines arrived, the Osprey was quietly gone as well.

The “widowmaker” has a crash record that accounts for 39 deaths and a separate page full of incidents on Wikipedia.

The Osprey might as well have been designed for the sorts of remote combat scenarios the marines simulate at Shoalwater Bay and in the Northern Territory. It can fly like a plane, but can take off and land like a helicopter in tricky terrain.

When it arrived in Darwin earlier this year, Lt. Colonel Matthew Emborsky praised the aircraft’s capabilities.

“Where our marines drill is an eight-hour drive from Darwin … the Osprey can get there in an hour,” he said.

Such amazing capability, clearly, comes at a cost.

The Courier-Mail has sought comment from the Australian Department of Defence.

Originally published as Analysis: US military aircraft crash latest to affect V-22 Osprey