V-22 in the COD role - Tricky to fly - Curt Lewis

Osprey Mission Set Grows As Safety Concerns Linger

ABOARD THE USS CARL VINSON-U.S. Marine Capt. Aaron "Fingers" Okun carefully hovered his MV-22B Osprey over the USS Carl Vinson's pitching deck, trying to get a feel for its unfamiliar angles. 

 
Okun was used to flying the tiltrotor on and off Navy amphibious ships, but the Nimitz-class Vinson was an entirely different animal. While it would be easier to land the Osprey in its helicopter mode on the ship than to perform a tail-hook landing with a C-2 Greyhound-the Navy's traditional platform for carrier onboard delivery (COD) operations, which Okun was trying to demonstrate-the Osprey presents its own unique safety concerns.

The Osprey creates such strong downwash that pilots will gradually tilt the aircraft's nacelles back and forth to spread the force over the surface below. On the carrier deck, the hurricane-force downwash nearly blew over one observer, who had to be supported by one of the deckhands.

Downwash worries are nothing new for the Osprey, and will continue to be a problem as the tiltrotor expands into new missions such as COD. During the past decade of operations, V-22 pilots have been finding ways to cope with the destructive and dangerous "brownout" dirt clouds that the aircraft's downwash creates.

The Osprey gained notoriety in its early development years for fatal accidents-there have been at least 39 deaths related to the development, deployment or operation of the V-22, according to government reports and Aviation Week's analysis of Naval Safety Center data dating back to 2009.

Nonetheless, pilots maintain the Osprey is one of the safest aircraft to fly, provided they follow its procedures. Marine Capt. Nathaniel Ross, an Osprey test pilot, says "I stick to the book."