Marine Corps investigates Osprey crash in Bladen Lakes State Forest

BLADEN COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — The Marine Corps is investigating after an MV-22B Osprey based at Marine Corps Air Station New River in Onslow County made a hard landing and caught fire Thursday in Bladen Lakes State Forest.

Four Marines were aboard the aircraft, and fire officials said one was flown to the burn center in Chapel Hill. The cause of the incident has not been determined.

Six fire units responded Thursday to gather water to fight the fire after the Osprey came down.

The MV-22B Osprey is a military aircraft that combines the capabilities of a helicopter and an airplane. Its rotors tilt upward for vertical takeoffs and landings, then rotate forward for airplane-style flight. The aircraft can travel at speeds of about 320 miles per hour and is primarily used by the Marine Corps to transport troops over long distances.

Justin Pitcock, president and chief flight instructor at HCHE Aviation and an Osprey pilot, said the aircraft has strict operating limits that pilots must follow.

“It’s very, very safe in the regimes that we know it’s safe in, and then it’s very, very steep cliffs. So, it’s not like an airplane where if it’s a gentle slope on the way down, it can be very severe for not following the parameters of the flight envelope that we know to follow,” said Pitcock.

The Osprey has been involved in several fatal crashes over the years.

In 2012, a Marine Corps Osprey crashed in Morocco, killing two Marines and injuring two others.

More recently, four fatal accidents involving military missions in 2022 and 2023 killed a total of 20 service members.