In March, an MC-22B Osprey from the US Marines crashed. The aircraft, codenamed “Ghost 31”, was out training in connection with the “Cold Response” exercise. Four people died. The investigation concluded that the cause was pilot error. The pilot’s actions during the flight, or lack of actions, were the direct cause of the accident, it says: In the material that has been released, it also appears that it was filmed with a private video camera during the flight. “A flight crew member used an unauthorized GoPro video recorder during the mission and in the time frame immediately prior to the crash,” it said. The video is without sound, and it is therefore not possible to determine “the extent to which the unauthorized device influenced the flight crew’s decision-making process”, it further states. Had eight kilometers of visibility The video was filmed 12 minutes and 30 seconds before the incident. It has provided important information in connection with the investigation. The video shows, among other things, that there was more than eight kilometers of visibility and that there was scattered cloud cover. The assessment has therefore been that the weather was good enough for the mission: “The recovered GoPro footage clearly shows that although there was bad weather earlier during the flight, this was not a significant factor near the accident site”. According to a press release, the accident was the result of a series of maneuvers carried out at low altitude through Gråtådalen. Special mention is made of a steep left turn at an angle of 68 degrees. The turn was overcorrected with a right turn exceeding 80 degrees from which the aircraft was unable to recover. For comparison, it says that an aircraft of this type can withstand a maximum tilt of 60 degrees. Timeline for the Osprey accident The NATO exercise Cold Response is officially underway. This was the last time the defense had contact with the Osprey aircraft, according to the police. The plane with the four Americans does not land in Bodø as agreed after taking off from Sandnessjøen. The last signal was over Saltfjellet. Yngve Odlo in FOH is notified. HRS registers the aircraft as missing. Rescue crews are dispatched from Bodø and Ørlandet. At first they thought the plane was in the area around Storglomvannet in Meløy, but it eventually turned out to be in Gråtådalen. Ørjan Kristensen receives an advance warning on his mobile that the plane is missing and that a rescue operation may have to be launched. Trones school becomes a command centre. Ørjan in Beiarn Red Cross arrives at 9 p.m. The Sea King rescue helicopter receives an emergency bearing signal over Gråtådalen. They will not land because of the weather. Strongly assumes that the four on board have died. VG and then several media outlets report on a missing Osprey aircraft. The news reaches Lana Reynolds and the international media quickly. The rescue team is at the scene of the accident. They are confirmed dead at the scene. The news that all four died is now official. Cold Response continues. No one enters Gråtådalen again due to the risk of avalanches. The Haravi Commission and Kripos arrive in Bodø and then Beiarn. No one enters the casualty due to the risk of avalanches. The weather is still bad. Because of a 70-year-old NATO agreement, the so-called Sofa agreement, the Americans are taking over the investigation. The four dead soldiers are retrieved from Gråtådalen by rescue helicopter. The weather is much better, sun and blue skies. The risk of landslides is significantly less. The names of the deceased will be made public after next of kin have been informed. The first photo from the accident scene is released by the police. The four dead soldiers land in the United States. Ceremonies honor them before they are taken to their families and then buried. Until now, people have been forbidden to approach the crash site. The traffic ban is now lifted so that you can get in to see the accident victim. But the wreck itself is still behind police cordons. Show more – Thorough report Rolf Liland is a special adviser to the Norwegian Aviation Association. He has read the report, which he describes as thorough. He says the pilots were practicing low-flying when the accident happened. Special adviser to the Norwegian Aviation Association, Rolf Liland. Photo: Private – They were going to try to follow the river through the valley. Then it looks like they make a powerful maneuver to avoid hitting the mountainside. They were only 10 meters from the mountainside, and the maneuver meant that they had to bank the plane more than it was designed for. They then had to do another maneuver to correct the first one, and not to crash into the terrain on the other side of the relatively narrow and winding valley. – The plane was on its way to rise, but it rose too little to be able to avoid hitting the rising terrain. He says the report discusses the use of private GoPro on board. – It seems that the Marine Corps’ internal rules do not allow the use of private GoPro cameras on board, which may have been done for debriefing purposes – but thanks to the same camera, the US military has formed a good overview of what has happened . – There was a lot of talk about bad weather in connection with the crash, since there was a change of weather shortly after the accident. The pictures show that at one point visibility was slightly reduced, but that visibility was fine when the problems arose. news has sent questions about the internal rules relating to GoPro to the US Marines, and will update the matter when answers are available. Shall learn from mistakes Lieutenant General Yngve Odlo, head of the Norwegian Armed Forces’ operational headquarters, says this is a tragic accident from which it is important to learn. Yngve Odlo is head of the Norwegian Armed Forces’ operational headquarters. Photo: Synnøve Sundby Fallmyr / news – When it comes to accidents like this, there are three factors that come into play, he says: – It’s weather, technical fault or personal fault. Here it has been concluded that it is a personal mistake. I am glad that it has been made concrete, so that we can learn from those mistakes. – These were experienced soldiers. Can we expect such major accidents to happen at such large exercises? – Yes I think so. This type of activity of that magnitude at that time of year will always be associated with a risk. We can never remove it. – The fact that there are experienced personnel also shows the importance of us practicing and training regularly. Precisely to be able to master these winter conditions.
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The photo was taken seconds before the plane crashed – news Nordland
