Three Marines were on board when an MV-22 Osprey chopper fell over the side of a US warship in 2017, according to recently discovered video.
The video, which was originally shared online on Saturday, depicts the sophisticated helicopter’s attempt to land on the deck of the US Green Bay off the coast of Queensland, Australia, on August 5, 2017.
But the helicopter, which has been involved in 51 fatal incidents since its debut flight in 1989 and has killed service members, lowers swiftly and unexpectedly.
The sailor who was video ran to safety just as the helicopter started to vanish from view, striking its left engine compartment off the deck as it pitched drastically.
The Bell-Boeing helicopter, which was carrying 26 personnel of Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 265, crashed into the Pacific Ocean after plunging 30 feet.
The damaged aircraft swiftly sank as a result of a hole in the cockpit filling with water.
All but three of those service members were saved, and after a 12-hour search, the bodies of three more were found.
They were Pfc. Ruben Velasco, 19, of Los Angeles, Cpl. Nathaniel Ordway, 21, of Sedgwick, Kansas, and 1st Lt. Benjamin Cross, 26, of Oxford, Maine.
As it sank, they were trapped in the cockpit.
Cross was the co-pilot of the airplane when it crashed.
Cross and Ordway were both assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 265 based out of the Futenma facility in Japan, according to Military.com.
Velasco was a member of the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines and was stationed at Camp Pendleton in California. He turned 19 days before his death.
At the time of the collision, the Osprey was part of a three-chopper squadron rehearsing embassy reinforcement, evacuation, and casualty drills while it was docked at the USS Bonhomme Richard.
Prior to the deadly collision on the Green Bay, it had safely performed numerous trips between the Bonhomme, Raspberry Creek base, and a third ship called the USS Ashland.
After a thorough examination by the Pentagon, it was determined that the Osprey had crashed due to excessive “downwash” — air deflected around its rotors.
According to the assessment, which The Drive obtained, the Osprey may have been carrying too much weight and the aircraft lacked enough thrust to maintain a hover pattern.
The three young Marines killed in the crash, according to military officials, all perished in the course of duty and not as a result of wrongdoing. No one was to blame for the crash, they added.
The aircraft’s pilot, a Marine Major who has not been identified in the crash report, allegedly “recognized and attempted to correct a 200-300 foot per minute rate of descent with an application of power utilizing the Thrust Control Lever.”
But they were unable to salvage the helicopter. Before crashing into the Pacific, it ended up destroying a neighboring helicopter, hitting a steel stairway, and hitting the deck of the Green Bay.
After the accident, Lt. Cross’s father, Robert Cross, told CBS News that his son had full confidence in the aircraft’s safety, despite a crash in Arizona in 2000 that claimed the lives of 19 Marines.
According to Cross, the plane had so many redundant safety systems that there was always a backup in case one failed.
Five Marines were murdered last month when another Osprey crashed in the California desert, raising new safety concerns about the scandal-plagued chopper line.
This helicopter went down in Imperial County, which is 150 miles east of San Diego and 30 miles north of the Mexican border, close to Highway 78 and the hamlet of Glamis.
Its cause is the subject of an ongoing investigation.
Capt. Nicholas P. Losapio, a pilot from Rockingham, New Hampshire; Cpl. Seth D. Rasmuson, a crew chief from Johnson, Wyoming; Capt.
John J. Sax, a pilot from Placer; and Lance The U.S. Marine Corps said on Friday that Cpl. Evan A. Strickland, 19, of Valencia, New Mexico, a crew chief, had passed away.
Crew chief Nathan Carlson’s death was already verified by family on Thursday.
Emily Baxter, the girlfriend of the 21-year-old, wrote on Facebook in a tribute to the Marine, “My heart is totally shattered…
I am already being torn apart so horribly that I am at a loss for words. He had the largest heart and was always ready to provide a hand if someone needed it.
Lt. Col. John C. Miller, the squadron’s commanding commander, said, “It is with heavy hearts that we grieve the death of five Marines from the Purple Fox family.”
Miller continued, “It is difficult to explain the impact that this loss has had on our squadron and its families.
We sincerely urge that the families of the dead Marines have some privacy during this trying time because that is our current main goal.
The flags in Rasmuson’s native Wyoming flew at half-mast on Friday as a mark of respect.
According to his father, Rasmuson grew up hunting, fishing, and camping and has a passion for the great outdoors.
Losapio had been a Marine for over nine years, making him the one with the longest service among the five that perished.
He had received the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, the Inherent Resolve Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, a Navy Unit Commendation, the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and a Sea Service Deployment Ribbon.
Sax had been a member of the corps for about six years and was also honored with many awards, including the Letter of Appreciation, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and the National Defense Service Medal.
Despite his short service—just over a year and a half—and his youth, Strickland was nevertheless awarded the Global War against Terrorism Service Medal and the National Defense Service Medal.
Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, also requested that flags be lowered at the State Capitol on Friday in remembrance of the deceased Marines.
The Marines were stationed at Camp Pendleton and part of Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 364, which is a part of Marine Aircraft Group 39, which is based at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego.
The cause of the collision is being looked into.
According to Marine Maj. Mason Englehart, a representative for the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, the Marines were engaging in standard live-fire training above their gunnery range in the Imperial Valley desert.
The Osprey, a combination aircraft and helicopter that was used in the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, has drawn criticism for being insecure. Its propellers can be turned horizontally to cruise like an airplane after taking off like a helicopter.
The Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force all operate variants of the aircraft.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Osprey crashes had already claimed 46 lives before the collision on Wednesday.
Most recently, on March 18, while taking part in a NATO exercise, a Marine Corps Osprey crashed close to a Norwegian hamlet in the Arctic Circle, killing four Marines.
The military added that the inquiry is ongoing and equipment recovery has started at the scene.
The Naval Air Facility in El Centro, which looked into the disaster, confirmed it on Wednesday.
According to a spokeswoman for the 3rd MAW, 1st Lt. Duane Kampa, the accident happened around 12.25 pm local time.
video from News 11 In Yuma, first responders and military troops could be seen assembling in the desert as a chopper departed for the crash scene. On the horizon, smoke could be faintly seen.
Although it has subsequently been proven false, there were suspicions that the jet was transporting nuclear material when it crashed.
Contrary to original claims, the airplane did not contain any radioactive material.
According to Military.com, the Boeing MV-22B Osprey is a tiltrotor aircraft with room for 24 Marine combat personnel.
According to Boeing, it is a “joint service multirole combat aircraft” with the speed and range of a fixed-wing aircraft as well as the vertical performance of a helicopter.
According to Boeing, it can fly, land, and hover just like a helicopter when its rotors are in the vertical position.
Once in the air, it may transform into a turboprop aircraft with high-speed, high-altitude flight capabilities.