The Defense Department said Monday it has no intention of scaling back its use of the tilt-rotor Osprey hybrid airplane-helicopter after a Marine was killed and 21 others were injured in a crash at Bellows Air Force Base, Hawaii.

Takeshi Onaga, governor of Okinawa in southern Japan – where the U.S. has 24 Ospreys stationed, with plans for 10 more by 2017 – on Monday demanded that Osprey flights be suspended until the cause of Sunday’s crash can be determined.

The Pentagon says the Osprey has had seven so-called hull-loss accidents with a total of 37 deaths in its history. Four of them, causing 30 of the 37 deaths, occurred during testing from 1991 to 2000. During that period, the aircraft came under intense congressional attack for its safety record and cost.

“I can tell you that MV-22s “have been a very reliable aircraft,” Capt. Alex Lim, a spokesman for the Marine Corps.

Steve Warren, a senior Pentagon spokeswoman, told reporters Monday in Washington that “it’s too soon to really raise questions” about the Osprey’s safety. He said there are “no plans to adjust our flight operations in Japan” or anywhere else.

bbabo.Net