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| Date: | Friday 9 April 2010 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  Bell-Boeing CV-22B Osprey |
| Owner/operator: | 8th SOS / ISAF USAF |
| Registration: | 06-0031 |
| MSN: | D1012 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2008 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 20 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | 11 km west of Qualat, Zabul -
 Afghanistan
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | |
| Investigating agency: | USAF AIB |
On April 9, 2010, an Osprey assigned to Air Force Special Operations Command was preparing to drop off a squad of U.S. Army Rangers in southern Afghanistan when Both engines compressor stalled, causing the Osprey to go into a steep rate of descent. The tiltrotor was traveling at least 88 miles per hour — While configuring from the airplane mode to the helicopter mode. The Osprey did not respond to the pilot advancing the TCL’s to maximum power. The pilot quickly decided to attampt a roll/on landing in the desert. He made a perfect landing. During the roll-out, the nose gear assembly sheared off the airplane, causing the nose to bury into the sand. Eventually, the Osprey tipped forward on its nose, crushing the cockpit and immediately killing the pilot and flight engineer. The airplane skidded yo a halt - upside down - on it’s back. The flipping motion was the cause of death for an Army Ranger and an Afghan female interpreter assigned to the Ranger unit.the landing zone.
According to a press interview with the investigator: a sudden tailwind was a factor in causing the compressor stalls. The main factor was “turbine glassing” caused by sand ingestion into the engines. This was NOT a pilot error accident. It was a dual engine compressor stall accident. The vapor seen coming from the engines was fuel vapor - caused by engines being in the “auto-relight” mode.
After a brief personnel recovery operation, 2 A-10’s bombed the wreckage to keep it out of militants’ hands.
The official report's opinion was critical of the pilot.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/04/09/world/main6377920.shtml
https://www.wired.com/2012/10/air-force-silenced-general/
http://blogs.star-telegram.com/files/afsoc-crash-report---afd-101215-007.pdf
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 09-Apr-2010 00:44 | nikitas | Added |
| 09-Apr-2010 01:15 | borgs011 | Updated [Source, ] |
| 09-Apr-2010 01:37 | TB | Updated [Aircraft type, Other fatalities, ] |
| 09-Apr-2010 03:01 | TB | Updated [Aircraft type, Cn, Operator, Location, ] |
| 09-Apr-2010 05:55 | TB | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, ] |
| 09-Apr-2010 05:59 | TB | Updated [Operator, Narrative, ] |
| 09-Apr-2010 06:40 | TB | Updated [Operator, ] |
| 09-Apr-2010 11:17 | RobertMB | Updated [Aircraft type, Cn, Operator, Narrative, ] |
| 09-Apr-2010 11:42 | RobertMB | Updated [Aircraft type, Cn, Operator, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 12-Apr-2012 03:29 | TB | Updated [Date, Registration, Cn, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 12-Apr-2012 04:10 | TB | Updated [Source, ] |
| 02-Jul-2015 11:39 | Aerossurance | Updated [Source, Narrative, ] |
| 02-Jul-2015 12:21 | Anon. | Updated [Source, Narrative, ] |
| 23-Dec-2019 17:06 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Operator, ] |
| 12-Aug-2020 06:22 | Accident Investigati | Updated [Total occupants, Narrative, ] |
| 03-Jul-2025 16:02 | ASN | Updated [Accident report, ] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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