Navy investigation finds Osprey safety issues were allowed to grow for years

Navy Report Reveals Years of Unresolved V-22 Osprey Safety Issues

A new Navy investigation has revealed that military officials failed to address a growing series of safety issues with the V-22 Osprey aircraft for nearly two decades, contributing to accidents that have claimed the lives of 20 service members in the past four years alone.

“The cumulative risk posture of the V-22 platform has been growing since initial fielding,” according to the report released Friday by Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR). The investigation highlighted that officials responsible for the aircraft “have not promptly implemented fixes to mitigate existing risks,” allowing hazards to accumulate over time.

The Osprey, a unique aircraft that flies like a plane but can land like a helicopter, has experienced an alarming spike in serious accidents between 2019 and 2023. Unlike other military aircraft, which typically show decreasing accident rates as they mature in service, the Osprey’s problems have persisted.

The NAVAIR report describes the Osprey as “the most aero-mechanically complex aircraft in service,” noting it “continues to face unresolved legacy material, safety, and technical challenges.” The investigation found the Osprey has the second-highest number of catastrophic risks among all Naval Aviation platforms, with those dangers remaining unresolved for an average of more than 10 years—significantly longer than the six-year average for other Navy aircraft.

Two critical issues involve the Osprey’s sophisticated transmission system. One problem causes the transmission to essentially destroy itself from within due to power imbalances between engines. This flaw led to a 2022 crash in California that killed five Marines. A second issue involves a manufacturing defect dating back to 2006 that makes transmission gears more brittle and prone to failure. This defect caused an Air Force Osprey crash off Japan in November 2023 that killed eight service members.

Remarkably, the report reveals that despite knowing about the manufacturing issue since 2006, the Osprey’s Joint Program Office did not formally assess or accept this risk until March 2024.

Vice Admiral John Dougherty, NAVAIR commander, stated the service is “committed to improving the V-22’s performance and safeguarding the warfighters who rely on this platform.” However, he offered no details regarding accountability measures for years of failure to address known risks, and NAVAIR did not respond to questions about any disciplinary actions taken in response to the findings.

Much of the responsibility falls on the Osprey’s Joint Program Office, which oversees the aircraft’s operation across the Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force. The investigation determined this office “did not effectively manage or address identified risks in a timely manner, allowing them to accumulate,” and struggled to implement safety improvements uniformly across all three military branches.

Beyond mechanical problems, the report found the program office failed to ensure consistent maintenance standards. It determined that 81% of ground accidents involving Ospreys were due to human error rather than mechanical failure.

The report offers multiple recommendations for each identified issue, ranging from consolidating maintenance practices across all military branches to developing a comprehensive midlife upgrade program for the aircraft. However, complete fixes for the two major mechanical issues aren’t expected until 2033 and 2034, raising questions about troop safety in the interim. When asked if it had a message for personnel who must continue flying the Osprey until then, Naval Air Systems Command did not respond.

In a separate report released the same day, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reached similar conclusions, attributing most Osprey accidents to part failures and human error. The GAO determined the military hasn’t fully “identified, analyzed, or responded” to all safety risks associated with the aircraft.

The watchdog agency recommended improving processes for addressing safety concerns, enhancing oversight to ensure problems are resolved, and establishing better information sharing about hazards and accidents between the Navy, Air Force, and Marines to prevent future mishaps.

The dual reports paint a troubling picture of institutional failure to address known safety issues with a complex military aircraft, even as service members continue to operate it in high-risk environments worldwide.