US Military: 5 Marines killed in aircraft crash in desert

SAN DIEGO (AP) — All five Marines on board an Osprey aircraft were killed when it crashed in the California desert near the Arizona border, the Marine Corps said Thursday, a day after the accident.

No additional details regarding the cause of the crash were provided in the Marine Corps statement.

The MV-22 Osprey went down at 12:25 p.m. Wednesday during training in a remote area in Imperial County near the community of Glamis, about 115 miles (185 kilometers) east of San Diego and about 50 miles (80 kilometers) from Yuma, Arizona.

The aircraft was based at Camp Pendleton with Marine Aircraft Group 39 and was part of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing headquartered at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego.

“We mourn the loss of our Marines in this tragic mishap,” Maj. Gen. Bradford J. Gering, commanding general of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, said in a statement. “Our hearts go out to their families and friends as they cope with this tragedy.”

The statement said as a matter of policy, the Marine Corps would be contacting family members before identifying those who were killed. Efforts to recover equipment were underway and an investigation has started.

The Osprey, a hybrid airplane and helicopter, has been criticized as unsafe. It is designed to take off like a helicopter, rotate its propellers to a horizontal position and cruise like an airplane.

Versions of the aircraft are flown by the Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force.

Prior to Wednesday’s crash, Osprey crashes had caused 46 deaths, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Most recently, four Marines were killed when a Marine Corps Osprey crashed on March 18 near a Norwegian town in the Arctic Circle while participating in a NATO exercise. In 2017, three Marines were killed when their MV-22 Osprey crashed off Queensland, Australia. In 2015, one Marine was killed and 21 were injured when their MV-22 Osprey caught fire during a “hard landing” in Hawaii.

The Osprey is a joint project of Bell Helicopter Textron and Boeing.

Its development was marked by deadly crashes, including an April 2000 accident in Arizona that killed 19 Marines.

___

Baldor reported from Washington.

News

Hemp products industry gets scrutiny from Georgia lawmakers

News

Texas man pleads guilty to defrauding Albany church

News

General Assembly passes bill targeting fentanyl

News

Legislation that could
help school boards
lower tax rates passes

News

IVF protection bill headed to Gov. Kemp

Community

Calendar for March 28, 2025

News

Ward is Chaplain of the Day in the House of Representatives

News

Measure to confront mass shootings, bomb threats, other school mayhem beats a deadline in the Senate

News

ABAC’s Georgia Museum of Agriculture to host Folklife Festival April 5

News

Second tort reform
bill passes both houses

News

Georgia Peanut Commission approves funding for research projects

News

Georgia Senate backs IVF treatments

News

Edwards named the
District’s Chief Academic Officer

News

Colquitt Regional receives awards from the Georgia Hospital Association

News

Former state Rep. Penny Houston to be honored with Advocate of the Year Award at children’s hearing event

Columns

EDDIE SEAGLE: A major adaptive gardening decision

Columns

HARRY MARTINEZ: Conflict within, Part 2

News

Turner’s Fine Furniture celebrates 110 years in business

News

Lawmakers decide to ban cellphones in public elementary and middle schools

News

Colquitt Regional adding women’s health residency program

News

Thoron named dean of ABAC School of Agriculture & Natural Resources

News

PCOM South Georgia
to host GOMA District III
annual meeting

News

State Senate gives locals extra leeway on property tax relief

News

Tort reform bill passes with support of Cannon and Watson