Hybrid Osprey V-22 aircraft in presidential fleet grounded after engine fire mid-flight - UPI.com (2024)

The entire fleet of V-22 Ospreys -- a hybrid aircraft that takes off, hovers and lands like a helicopter but flies like a regular plane -- grounded in December 2023 after a tragedy in Japan.Photo by Dalton Douglas/Pexels

The incident came as Democratic Massachusetts lawmakers Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, and Rep. Richard Neal wrote to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, urging him to ground the entire Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey fleet in the wake of numerous incidents, most recently a crash off Japan that killed eight U.S. servicemen in Japan in November 2023.

"Given the current concerns about the safety of the V-22, the aircraft should be grounded, and should not be deployed again until the platform's significant deficiencies are fully addressed," the lawmakers wrote.

The entire fleet of V-22 Ospreys -- a hybrid aircraft that takes off, hovers and lands like a helicopter but flies like a regular plane -- across the U.S. Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and the presidential fleet was grounded in December 2023 after the Japan tragedy and only cleared to resume operating in March, albeit with some restrictions.

A Pentagon investigation found the crash was caused by a "catastrophic failure" of a part in one of its proprotor gearboxes and pilot error.

Naval Air Systems Command said at the time that it had made the call to allow the V-22s to return to flight following "a meticulous and data-driven approach prioritizing the safety of our aircrews" that involved testing "risk-mitigation controls."

However, command officials refused to identify the component that failed. They insisted the processes they had implemented would allow the aircraft to resume flying safely.