The deadly crash of an CV-22B Osprey off the coast of Japan that claimed the lives of eight airmen in November was caused by a catastrophic failure in the gearbox of its left proprotor and how it was handled by crew members, according to the Air Force investigation into the crash.
A copy of the investigation obtained by Military.com says investigators found that components inside the gearbox began cracking and releasing debris, which then wedged between other components and eventually caused the left proprotor to stop turning, putting the aircraft into an unrecoverable spin.
The incident was the last of three deadly crashes that struck the Osprey community in recent years and triggered a monthslong grounding of the aircraft. While Ospreys resumed flight in March, they were cleared to fly without a full understanding of what brought down the Air Force flight in Japan and adhered to a restriction that bars flying more than 30 minutes from an airfield.
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The investigation reveals that throughout the flight of Gundam 22 — the call sign of the aircraft that crashed — the pilots received warnings that there were tiny metal chips in their gearbox but that they were being addressed by an internal system of sensors and magnets.
However, after a third warning, Air Force policies say that the crew needed to “land as soon as practical” — a formal…
