U.S. Naval Institute’s online news and analysis portal, USNI News, reported that 15 remaining C-2A aircraft initially set for retirement will be used to fill the gap left by the grounding of V-22 Osprey. The USNI News later deleted the report, but no explanation was provided.
38 CMW-22B Ospreys were planned to be introduced in place of retired C-2A aircraft, but the grounding that has lasted more than two months brought uncertainty to this plan.
The tiltrotor V-22s were grounded following an accident with causalities in Japan. A CV-22 of the U.S. Air Force crashed off the island of Yakushima in southwestern Japan in November 2023. A fire was seen in its left engine, and there was information that the aircraft was spinning before it crashed.
The tiltrotor aircraft is known for combining vertical and horizontal flight by adjusting the angle of its engines. As much as it provides the advantage of carrying cargo loads independent of a runway, the mechanics of the aircraft’s propulsion have significant dangers when it comes to an engine failure.
Japan suspended flights and asked the U.S. military to ground all Ospreys in Japan.
In the event of an engine failure for helicopters, autorotation can dampen the severity of the crash by keeping the rotor(s) in rotation to provide lift. However, a tiltrotor in take-off or landing is very likely to crash severely as the failure of one engine unrecoverably distorts the balance. Engine failure in horizontal flight is also risky because of the lower gliding performance of the V-22 compared to an average cargo aircraft.
