The Marine Corps said Wednesday its tilt-rotor MV-22 Ospreys are safe to fly and resumed operations in Japan following a crash that killed three Marines last week.
The service put a two-day pause on operations while it examined the circumstances around the crash off the USS Bonhomme Richard during a training exercise in Australia, said Lt. Gen. Lawrence Nicholson, commander of the III Marine Expeditionary Force based in Okinawa.
The government of Japan had requested Sunday the Ospreys, which have raised safety concerns among the Japanese public, be grounded following the incident. The Marine Corps had not previously announced the operational pause.
“After taking these actions and making an initial examination of the facts and circumstances leading up to the mishap, the [Marine Expeditionary Unit] determined that the Osprey is safe to fly and resumed operations,” Nicholson said. “I concurred with the MEU commander. I would never put my aircrews or any local citizens in danger by flying an aircraft that I do not believe is safe and ready to fly.”
Most of the 26 crew members were able to escape when the MV-22 went down in the ocean off Queensland but three were lost and later declared dead.
The Australian Defence Force had helped locate the wreckage and was still assisting in recovery of the aircraft on Wednesday, according to the Marine Corps.
Two squadrons of MV-22s were deployed to Marine bases on Okinawa in 2012 and 2013, causing outcry from island residents who live near the U.S. air fields and were wary of the aircraft’s rocky safety record during development.
The service temporarily grounded the fleet in December after an Osprey crashed into the ocean off Okinawa’s coast, injuring crew members.
