Military grounds Osprey after fatal crash off Japan, leaving KAFB pilots without training aircraft

A crash off the coast of Japan that killed eight service members reverberated across the military branches, including at Kirtland Air Force Base, where pilots training with the Osprey CV-22 aircraft have been grounded until further notice.

The military announced late Wednesday it was grounding all of its Osprey V-22 aircraft, one week after eight Air Force Special Operations Command service members died in a crash off the coast of Japan.

The Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps took the extraordinary step of grounding hundreds of aircraft after a preliminary investigation of last week’s crash indicated that a material failure — something went wrong with the aircraft — and not a mistake by the crew led to the deaths.

Kirtland is home to the 58th Special Operations Wing, where airmen are trained on a variety of aircraft, including the Osprey. The mission of the CV-22, which is what the Air Force calls the aircraft, is to conduct long-range infiltration, exfiltration and resupply missions for special operations forces, according to Kirtland’s website.

“Safely accomplishing our critical missions remain the paramount focus within the 58 Special Operations Wing,” Col. Jonathan Graham, the commander of the 58th Special Operations Wing, said in a statement. “The decision to implement this operational pause underscores the Air Force’s commitment to a thorough investigation aimed at ensuring the safety of our force. During this period, the dedicated women and men of the 58th will make the best use of our robust training infrastructure to continue developing Airmen to meet our service’s operational requirements.”

Eva Blaylock, a spokeswoman for Kirtland Air Force Base, said that airmen who are in Albuquerque to train on the Osprey will be limited to using simulators on the base and other exercises on the ground. She said the service members who maintain the aircraft will not be affected.

“Depending on the length of the operational pause, we may see impacts to the overall student production further down the road,” she said.

It wasn’t exactly clear Thursday how many pilots at Kirtland will be affected by the grounding. More than 14,000 airmen go through the 58th SOW each year.

“This is impacting not just Kirtland, but all of the 58th (SOW) training missions,” Blaylock said.

The crash in Japan raised new questions about the safety of the Osprey, which has been involved in multiple fatal accidents over its relatively short time in service. The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force grounded its fleet of 14 Ospreys after the crash.

Lt. Gen. Tony Bauernfeind, head of Air Force Special Operations Command, directed the stand-down “to mitigate risk while the investigation continues,” the command said in a statement. “Preliminary investigation information indicates a potential materiel failure caused the mishap, but the underlying cause of the failure is unknown at this time.”

In a separate notice, Naval Air Systems Command said it was grounding all Ospreys. The command is responsible for the Marine Corps and Navy variants of the aircraft.

The Air Force said it is unknown how long the aircraft would be grounded. It said the stand-down was expected to remain in place until the investigation determined the cause of the Japan crash and made recommendations to allow the fleet to return to operations.

The U.S.-made Osprey is a hybrid aircraft that takes off and lands like a helicopter but can rotate its propellers forward and cruise much faster, like an airplane, during flight.

Its unique design has been a factor in multiple incidents. Blaylock said that the aircraft has been grounded before, most recently in February 2023 while clutching issues were being investigated.

Air Force Special Operations Command has 51 Ospreys, the Marine Corps flies as many as 400 and the Navy operates 27.

The aircraft became operational in 2007 after decades of testing.

An Osprey accident in August in Australia killed three Marines. That accident also remains under investigation.

An Osprey flying in and out of Kirtland has never crashed, according to base officials.