DATE:17/04/10
SOURCE: Flight International

Source: CV-22 crash not caused by mechanical failure
By Stephen Trimble

The BellBoeing CV-22 crash in Afghanistan on 8 April was not caused by a mechanical failure, according to a source familiar with preliminary findings of the US military investigation.

The fatal crash, which killed four and injured others, occurred after the pilot lost situational awareness while landing in a wadi around 1am under brown-out conditions, the source says.

The incident killed the pilot, a flight engineer, an army Ranger and an unidentified civilian.

Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), which owns the CV-22 fleet, was not immediately available to comment.

US military officials have previously stated the cause of the CV-22 crash in Afghanistan was still under investigation. Military spokesmen, however, have ruled out enemy fire as a potential cause.

The 8 August crash is the first fatal accident involving a V-22 Osprey tiltrotor since December 2000, and is the fifth fatal crash in the programme's chequered history.

In 2000, two fatal crashes within eight months caused by a combination of design flaws and mechanical failures forced military leaders to put the programme on hold for two years while contractors re-designed systems and the airframe to improve safety.

After declaring the MV-22 fleet operational in 2007, the US Marine Corps has deployed its version of the Osprey in Iraq and Afghanistan without suffering a fatal crash.

USMC officials have praised the MV-22's performance, although the service has acknowledged concerns about unexpectedly high costs to operate and maintain the unique tiltrotor fleet.

AFSOC, meanwhile, had deployed six CV-22s delivered so far to Africa, Iraq and Afghanistan before sustaining the crash.

The brown-out scenario during landing is recognized as a major safety concern for all rotorcraft operating in areas with loose sand. A recent study by the Office of the Secretary of Defense has concluded that 80% of the US millitary's 320 rotorcraft crashes during the last decade has been caused by degraded visual awareness.

Afghan people run away as an Afghan military helicopter crashes in the Panjshir Valley after a memorial ceremony marking the 4th anniversary of rebel commander Ahmad Shah Masood Saturday, Sept. 10, 2005. Two passengers were injured, but no one was killed, in the helicopter which was carrying military and government officials from the memorial events. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)

People run away as an Afghan military helicopter crashes and catches fire in the Panjshir Valley after a memorial ceremony marking the 4th anniversary of rebel commander Ahmed Shah Masood Saturday, Sept. 10, 2005. Two passengers were injured, but no one was killed in the helicopter which was carrying military and government officials from the memorial events. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)

An Afghan helicopter burns after it crashed in the Panjshir Valley following a memorial ceremony marking the 4th anniversary of rebel commander Ahmed Shah Masood Saturday, Sept. 10, 2005. Two passengers were injured, but no one was killed, in the helicopter which was carrying military and government officials from the memorial events. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)

A U.S. Navy LTV A-7E Corsair II aircraft (BuNo 157495) of attack squadron VA-56 Champions bursts into flames after a ramp strike on the aircraft carrier USS Midway (CV-41), on 21 August 1984. The pilot was killed. In the foreground is a Grumman E-2B Hawkeye of airborne early warning squadron VAW-115 Liberty Bells.

Da hatte ich mich schon gefreut, die Maschine im August live zu sehen, und dann das:
FW 190A8/N Notlandung im Wasser
Dem Piloten Marc Mathis ist zum Glück nichts passiert

Es gab doch kürzlich noch ein Unfall mit eine diese Neubauten?

Letztes Jahr auf der ILA ist ein Nachbau einer Messerschmitt Bf 109 bei der Landung von der Bahn abgekommen.

Der Nachbau der Focke-Wulf 190 von Ulrich Bronner wurde am 12. April 2007 in Freiburg bei einem Rollunfall schwer beschädigt.

El avión de combate Eurofighter en el que ha fallecido esta mañana un militar saudí en la base de Morón (Sevilla) golpeó contra la pista durante la maniobra de despegue, justo después de haber superado la denominada "línea de no retorno", según han informado a Europa Press fuentes del Ministerio de Defensa.

Nach Angaben der Ejercito del Aire ereignete sich der Unfall etwa um 9.30 Uhr nur wenige Augenblicke nach dem Start. An Bord waren ein Fluglehrer aus Spanien sowie ein Oberstleutnant der saudischen Luftstreitkräfte, der sich zur Ausbildung in Moron befand. Letzterer wurde getötet während sich der Spanier mit dem Schleudersitz retten konnte.

War das nun der erste EF Absturz im Dienst?

Ich bin der Meinung, dass der Pilot der 1. Maschine ein Testpilot war der nach Triebwerksproblemen ausstieg.

http://img44.imageshack.us/img44/1921/rafh...ndaharcrash.jpg
RAF Harrier crash, Kandahar, Mai 2009

Also ist es (wie gedacht) nur bei anderen Modellen der Fall?

Angesichts des Sitzaufbaus frage ich mich aber, wie du anhand des Bildes beurteilen willst, ob die Beine herangezogen werden oder nicht. Weil unterhalb der Sitzschale nichts ist, das als Referenz dienen würde.

Nein, auch beim Harrier werden die Beine vor dem Ausschuss herangezogen.
Angesichts des Sitzaufbaus frage ich mich aber, wie du anhand des Bildes beurteilen willst, ob die Beine herangezogen werden oder nicht. Weil unterhalb der Sitzschale nichts ist, das als Referenz dienen würde.

Vor allem war das nicht nur ein Testpilot, sondern auch ein EF-Prototyp - genauer DA6 - mit Vorserientriebwerken.

A U.S. crewman runs from a crashed CH-21 Shawnee troop helicopter near the village of Ca Mau in the southern tip of South Vietnam, Dec. 11, 1962. Two helicopters crashed without serious injuries during a government raid on the Viet Cong-infiltrated area. Both helicopters were destroyed to keep them out of enemy hands. (AP Photo/Horst Faas)