Five Marines Killed in MV-22B Osprey Crash, USMC Confirms

The MV-22 Osprey’s mission for the U.S. Marine Corps is the transportation of troops, equipment, and supplies from ships and land bases for combat assault and assault support. [Courtesy: Naval Air Systems Command]

The U.S. Marine Corps has launched an investigation after a MV-22B Osprey crashed during a mishap in the southern California desert Wednesday, killing all five crew members on board, the service confirmed Thursday.

The MV-22B went down near Glamis, California, around 12:25 p.m. during a training mission.

The tilt-rotor aircraft was assigned to Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, which is based in Camp Pendleton, California, a USMC spokesperson told FLYING.

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

Following the accident, the service reported that five Marines had been onboard the aircraft at the time of the mishap, and that it was awaiting confirmation of their status, adding, "Contrary to initial social media reports, there was no nuclear material on board the aircraft."

USMC did not immediately release the names of those killed in the accident.

READ MORE:Marine Corps Identifies Four Killed In MV-22B Training Incident In Norway

"As a matter of policy, identities of deceased service members are not released until 24 hours after all next-of-kin notifications have been completed," it said.

The incident marks the second fatal accident for the MV-22B in less than three months.

In March, a USMC MV-22B participating in NATO cold weather training exercise in Norway crashed, killing four service members on board. All four Marines killed were assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 261 based in New River, North Carolina.

Kimberly JohnsonEditor

Kimberly is managing editor of FLYING Digital.