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At least 10 of several hundred people who gathered to watch were injured by flying debris when a Marine Corps V-22 Osprey arrived for a scheduled event at Clove Lakes Park Preserve, Staten Island, on Memorial Day. The aircraft had been dispatched for a landing on a ball field at the park for a 2010 Fleet Week and Memorial Day celebration. But as the aircraft slowed, its rotor wash began to stir up picnic blankets like “two tornadoes.” Keith Carlsen told the NYDailynews.com, “Trees were bending and then branches broke.” People were injured by those tree limbs that broke free and were thrown off their feet by the rotor wash as others ran, screaming. Air Force veteran John Wilson, by his own account, tumbled some 30 feet and was treated for cuts to the head. The event was approved by Naval Aviation, the FAA, and the city’s parks, police and fire departments, the last of which were clearly in attendance and quickly attended to the injured. Video after the jump.
“At some point I wanted to take my son to an airshow, but after this I don’t see that happening,” said Sal D’Alessio. It took seven stitches to close a wound on D’Alessio’s head.
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A second video (primary video is at right), shows just the approach, though the video quality isn’t as high.
