The US Marine Corps may ground its fleet of Osprey
tilt-rotor aircraft as well as other planes to conduct a safety review
following a crash in Australia that killed three Marines, a defense official
said Monday.
The Japan-based Marine MV-22 Osprey crashed Saturday during
an exercise off the Australian coast, leaving three service members missing and
presumed dead.
"We are looking at our options in terms of reviewing
safety across the Marine Corps fleet at the moment ... pending an
across-the-board safety review," a US defense official told AFP.
US officials are also weighing a request by Japan's new
defense minister, who told the US military on Monday of his "many
concerns" after it flew an Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft in the country
following the crash.
Itsunori Onodera, appointed Thursday as Japan's defense
minister, had asked the US to temporarily stop flying the aircraft in his
country following the accident.
"We have still many concerns," Onodera said during
a meeting with Major General Charles Chiarotti, deputy commander of US Forces
in Japan, according to a defence ministry spokesman.
Japanese media said the flight took place on the southern
island of Okinawa, where a squadron of Ospreys is stationed at the US Marines'
Futenma base.
The Marine Corps did not immediately respond to a request
for comment, but Chiarotti told Onodera the flight was necessary for
operational reasons and that safety was confirmed, according to Japan's defense
ministry.
The MV-22 -- a hybrid helicopter-turboprop with a chequered
safety record -- has two engines positioned on fixed wingtips that allow it to
land and take off vertically. It can travel much faster than a helicopter.
According to the US official, the Osprey crashed after
clipping the back of the USS Green Bay while trying to land on the amphibious
transport ship.
The Okinawa-based aircraft which crashed was in Australia as
part of a joint military exercise called Talisman Sabre, which has just ended
in Queensland state.
There have been a series of deadly incidents, mostly in the
United States, involving the aircraft.
In April 2000 19 Marines were killed in an MV-22 crash in
Arizona.
Locals on Okinawa have protested at the deployment of
Ospreys to Futenma, which sits in the middle of a crowded city.
In December a "controlled landing" of an Osprey
just off the Okinawan coast during a training flight sparked local anger. The
aircraft broke into pieces but no one was killed.
