thedrifter
05-29-09, 04:45 AM
Osprey damaged by fire after precautionary landing
Comments 3 | Recommend 3
May 28, 2009 - 10:37 AM
AMANDA HICKEY
EDITOR'S NOTE: This article was updated to add comments from a Cherry Point spokesman.
An MV-22 Osprey's precautionary landing Wednesday night at the Holly Shelter Game Land in Pender County caused a small brush fire, according to Cherry Point Air Station officials.
The four-member crew, assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Training Squadron 204 at New River Air Station, was conducting low altitude training along a designated flight route when the aircraft experienced engine failure due to low fuel conditions, according to a press release from Cherry Point, where the 2nd Marine Air Wing is headquartered.
The pilot, whose name will not be released, made the precautionary landing in a nearby field. No one was injured.
After a fuel cell boost, the aircraft successfully restarted but the grass around the aircraft caught fire from the engine's heat exhaust, according to the release.
"The exhaust ... was hot enough to start a little bit of a brush fire with the grass in the surrounding area," said Cherry Point spokesman Maj. Aisha Bakkar. "They got the fire out in a timely fashion. It just appears there was some superficial damage to the aircraft so that's what they have to determine: Was it just cosmetic or was it anything significant before they put the aircraft back in the air again."
Once the damage is assessed, a decision on how to return the Osprey, which is worth $64.9 million, to New River Air Station will be made.
"Precautionary landings are done occasionally," Bakkar said. "Typically, they are done at airfields. Really, they're completely controlled landings. Anytime you get a warning light of any kind, typically as a precautionary measure just to err on the side of safety more than anything else, the pilots will often choose to make a precautionary landing rather than complete a flight mission just to assess the situation."
Contact military reporter Amanda Hickey at 910-219-8461 or ahickey@freedomenc.com. Visit the Lejeune Deployed blog at http://lejeunedeployed.freedomblogging.com
Ellie
Comments 3 | Recommend 3
May 28, 2009 - 10:37 AM
AMANDA HICKEY
EDITOR'S NOTE: This article was updated to add comments from a Cherry Point spokesman.
An MV-22 Osprey's precautionary landing Wednesday night at the Holly Shelter Game Land in Pender County caused a small brush fire, according to Cherry Point Air Station officials.
The four-member crew, assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Training Squadron 204 at New River Air Station, was conducting low altitude training along a designated flight route when the aircraft experienced engine failure due to low fuel conditions, according to a press release from Cherry Point, where the 2nd Marine Air Wing is headquartered.
The pilot, whose name will not be released, made the precautionary landing in a nearby field. No one was injured.
After a fuel cell boost, the aircraft successfully restarted but the grass around the aircraft caught fire from the engine's heat exhaust, according to the release.
"The exhaust ... was hot enough to start a little bit of a brush fire with the grass in the surrounding area," said Cherry Point spokesman Maj. Aisha Bakkar. "They got the fire out in a timely fashion. It just appears there was some superficial damage to the aircraft so that's what they have to determine: Was it just cosmetic or was it anything significant before they put the aircraft back in the air again."
Once the damage is assessed, a decision on how to return the Osprey, which is worth $64.9 million, to New River Air Station will be made.
"Precautionary landings are done occasionally," Bakkar said. "Typically, they are done at airfields. Really, they're completely controlled landings. Anytime you get a warning light of any kind, typically as a precautionary measure just to err on the side of safety more than anything else, the pilots will often choose to make a precautionary landing rather than complete a flight mission just to assess the situation."
Contact military reporter Amanda Hickey at 910-219-8461 or ahickey@freedomenc.com. Visit the Lejeune Deployed blog at http://lejeunedeployed.freedomblogging.com
Ellie