Five Marines killed in aircraft crash

The service members were participating in routine live-fire training at a gunnery range in the Southern California desert when the MV-22 Osprey crashed Wednesday afternoon. The aircraft, a helicopter and airplane hybrid, was based at Camp Pendleton. Per military policy, the names of the Marines will not be released until at least 24 hours after the event while family members are notified.

What caused the accident? A Marine Corps statement confirmed an investigation is underway but did not release any details. First responders originally discussed possible radioactive materials on the aircraft, but the Marine Corps said that was inaccurate information. The Osprey, manufactured by Bell and Boeing, was used in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars but has been criticized as unsafe. Most recently, one crashed in Norway in March, killing four Marines. A 2017 accident in Queensland, Australia, killed three Marines, and one Marine died and 21 were injured when an Osprey caught fire while landing in Hawaii in 2015. Between 1991 and 2006, a total of four crashes claimed 30 lives.

Dig deeper: From the archives, read Lynde Langdon and Onize Ohikere’s report on the 2017 Queensland crash.