Three Marines Killed In Osprey Crash

Three U.S. Marines were killed and five were hospitalized in the crash of an MV-22B Osprey during a training exercise in Australia on Sunday. There were 23 Marines aboard the…

Paramedics push a stretcher following U.S. military aircraft crash in Darwin, Australia, August 27, 2023 in this screen grab obtained from a handout video. AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION/via Reuters TV/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. AUSTRALIA OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN AUSTRALIA. NO USE AUSTRALIA/ANY INTERNET SITE OF ANY AUSTRALIA BASED MEDIA ORGANISATIONS OR MOBILE PLATFORMS.

Three U.S. Marines were killed and five were hospitalized in the crash of an MV-22B Osprey during a training exercise in Australia on Sunday. There were 23 Marines aboard the tiltrotor transport when the accident occurred. It happened about 9:30 a.m. local time on Melville Island, near Darwin in the country's Northern Territory. Circumstances of the crash were not immediately released.

The Osprey was part of the Marine Rotational Force taking part in a training exercise with troops from Indonesia, the Philippines and East Timor in an exercise called Predators Run. There are about 2,500 Marines in Northern Australia. It was the second fatal crash for the Marine Corps in three days. An F/A-18 pilot died in a crash at Miramar Marine Air Station late Thursday.

Russ Niles is Editor-in-Chief of AVweb. He has been a pilot for 30 years and joined AVweb 22 years ago. He and his wife Marni live in southern British Columbia where they also operate a small winery.