Morocco Helicopter Crash: U.S. Military Copter Reportedly Down In Southern Morocco

By Paul Schemm -- The Associated Press

RABAT, Morocco — Two U.S. Marines were killed and two severely injured in the crash of a hybrid aircraft, known as an MV-22 Osprey, in Morocco on Wednesday, officials said.

The Osprey crashed in a military training area southwest of Agadir, Morocco, after taking off from aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima, said Capt. Kevin Schultz, a Marine spokesman at the Pentagon in Washington.

Schultz said the Osprey, which takes off and lands like a helicopter and flies like an airplane, was participating in a U.S.-Moroccan military exercise known as "African Lion."

The 10-day exercise was set to end April 17 and involves 1,000 U.S. Marines and 200 soldiers, sailors and airmen. They were working with some 900 Moroccan soldiers.

According to the U.S. Marine website, the exercise involved "everything from combined arms fire and maneuver ranges, aerial refueling and deliveries of supplies, to command post and non-lethal weapons training."

The main unit involved in the exercise is the 14th Marines, a reserve artillery regiment based in Fort Worth, Texas, but also includes members of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit based in Camp Lejeune, North Caroline.

The goal of the exercise is to train the two countries' forces to work together.

Further information about the crash was being withheld until the next of kin of the killed and injured Marines were notified, said Rodney Ford, spokesman of the U.S. Embassy in Rabat.

___

AP correspondent Lolita Baldor contributed to this report from Washington.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article incorrectly identified the aircraft in the crash. The current version reflects that the downed aircraft was an MV-22 Osprey, not a helicopter.'

Comments

[dshutt86]

03:04 PM on 04/12/2012

Why is our military in Morroco? We dont have enough people hating us we figured we might as well poke around there to? Our army should be securing our border, our navy should be securing our waters and our air force should be securing our skies. This country has been a full blown empire for decades, this country that was founded by rebels who smashed the worlds strongest empire for independence. They struck terror into the hearts of the British by using tactics that were unheard of and considered to be barbaric at that time. Now we are what they fought so hard against. We have been poking around in Muslim countries since the 1950's building military bases, overthrowing governments, propping up dictators, bombing, assassinating, sanctions that do nothing but starve civilians, etc and people here wonder why they hate us? UGH! Same reason the Irish hated the British. Do it to India and Hindus will be trying to kill you, do it to China and atheists will be trying to kill you, do it to the US and Christians will be trying to kill you, etc. Occupy another mans land and oppress him he will try to kill you. Religion has nothing to do with it. As for the oil aspect just think about how many trillions of dollars we have spent over there. If just half of that was spent on the research and development of alternative energy sources we already wouldn't need oil.

[hungryaardvark]

02:35 PM on 04/12/2012

Sad the troops died. The idiocy is that they are there defending the oppressive monarchy in Morocco. We do love our dictators, don't we? End the problem by ending Empire America. Stop wasting lives and money on the US killing machine.

[dshutt86]

03:21 PM on 04/12/2012

"Wherever the standard of freedom and Independence has been or shall be unfurled, there will her (Americas) heart, her benedictions and her prayers be. But she goes not abroad, in search of monsters to destroy. She is the well-wisher to the freedom and independence of all. She is the champion and vindicator only of her own. She will commend the general cause by the countenance of her voice, and the benignant sympathy of her example. She well knows that by once enlisting under other banners than her own, were they even the banners of foreign independence, she would involve herself beyond the power of extrication, in all the wars of interest and intrigue, of individual avarice, envy, and ambition, which assume the colors and usurp the standard of freedom. The fundamental maxims of her policy would insensibly change from liberty to force. She might become the dictatress of the world. She would be no longer the ruler of her own spirit. Americas glory is not dominion, but liberty. Her march is the march of the mind. She has a spear and a shield: but the motto upon her shield is, Freedom, Independence, Peace. This has been her Declaration: this has been, as far as her necessary intercourse with the rest of mankind would permit, her practice." - John Adams................We went from that profound wisdom to the globe straddling empire we have today! Shame on us for letting it happen!

[Donimo70]

12:33 PM on 04/12/2012

The Osprey, should be scrapped !

[Alexey Braguine]

12:13 PM on 04/12/2012

Non lethal weapons????

[silver45]

01:57 PM on 04/12/2012

The article did not say non lethal weapons. It clearly states non-lethal weapons training.As you may have forgotten, it means it was not a live-fire execise.

[Rexter]

10:44 AM on 04/12/2012

The Osprey program has been plagued with crashes and mishaps since its inception. The cost per each has risen to an estimated $140 million per unit - that is twice what a huge C-130 cargo plane costs, and you could buy four MHS-60 helicopters which are armed with missiles and cannon for the same price. The main promoter and defender of this machine, General McCorkle of the USMC has since retired. They have plans of ordering 360 of these things at a price tag of over $50 billion.

McCorkle led a passionate defense of the V-22 during his tenure. Soon after retiring from the Marines in October 2001, McCorkle joined the board of directors and as a senior advisor for GKN Aerospace Services (V-22 fuel tanks). He also serves on the Rolls-Royce North America board of directors (V-22 engines), and is a member of the board of directors of Lord Corporation (V-22 components). In addition, he has served as a consultant for Boeing Aerospace (V-22 maker) and Optical Air Data Systems (V-22 low airspeed indicator).

The MIC takes care of its own.

[silver45]

02:21 PM on 04/12/2012

I agree with most of what you say. The V-22 should not be compared to the C-130 as the C-130 can not operate off the amphip ships. The marines do have C-130's in VCMJ units. (ie VCMJ-152) I know it dates me, but the CH-53 & CH-53E could move the troops and retrieve heavy weapons and downed aircraft. I never rode the echo as MCAS New River was just getting them as I was retiring from the Navy. I was in the 8th Marines located on the MCAS New River side of Camp Lejeune. (Camp Geiger)

[gunnyeaton]

08:58 AM on 04/12/2012

The media needs to return to an era where reporters actually knew what they were talking about. The V-22 is not a helicopter, but rather a VTOL aircraft - a fixed wing aircraft that takes off and lands vertically.

[hungryaardvark]

02:38 PM on 04/12/2012

So the crew didn't get killed because the killing machine was misnamed in the article?

The crew is alive in their VTOL in an alternate universe?

Why not call the Osprey what it really is? A piece of carp.

[MrSimythe]

08:49 AM on 04/12/2012

Dear HuffPo. Please edit this article to include a photo of an Osprey rotocraft and not a Black Hawk helicopter. Thank you.

[greencardclose]

06:56 AM on 04/12/2012

so, it was a mission to train killers that kill their countrymen (in Western Sahara) to kill better. Sounds a lot like a taliban training camp with a few more dollors

[FreeSpeech4All]

04:53 AM on 04/12/2012

Is there any country left in the world where the US is not conducting some sort of military operation? Let's get out of the military business and start fixing the problems here at home.

[Tuula Westra]

08:09 AM on 04/12/2012

But the USA does not know how to live without invading/attacking/having mili ops, any country will do, better yet if there is a drop of oil.

[mkdm0]

09:30 AM on 04/12/2012

There's oil im Morroco?

[terroristmd]

12:09 PM on 04/12/2012

Morocco is the U.S. first ally, we have a very long standing tradition (about 250 years or so) of joint military exercises...allies train together, its a fact of history.

[cul8rsb]

02:30 AM on 04/12/2012

If we do not kill each other, mother nature will. It’s just our history.

[cul8rsb]

02:25 AM on 04/12/2012

A great loss. sometimes it comes and it does not choose good or bad people. People die by the hundreds of thousands every day for just about any thing you can think of. Condolences to there families. They were protecting the homeland.

[hungryaardvark]

02:41 PM on 04/12/2012

They weren't protecting squat. They were training others to kill folks half way around the world. It's all about our corrupt Empire America and the brainwashing that Dumbmericans have undergone for decades.

[Ray Kurilla]

01:32 AM on 04/12/2012

All these military crafts crashing. Billions of dollars going to waste. Need to either build better craft or train the pilots better. Wherever the fault is.

[terroristmd]

12:10 PM on 04/12/2012

uhhhh 10,000 plus hours of flying time there happens to be a few crashes...how many car accidents where in your city today?

[flyingfortresb17]

12:35 AM on 04/12/2012

Hey Huffington Post: It is an OSPREY. A fixed wing aircraft with movable engines. Not a Helicopter as your leas suggest. Get it right people.

[NadineIsBad]

03:49 AM on 04/12/2012

it takes off and lands like a copter ... then flies straight like a airplane

the engines along with the wings move so it can go straight up then turn wing forward for

forward flight ... they hover then turn the wings and go down and land

[Greg Hampton]

07:36 AM on 04/12/2012

Yes - it is called a rotorcraft - not a helicopter.

[flyingfortresb17]

01:36 PM on 04/12/2012

It is not classified as a helicopter by the military and Huffington Post should know that if they did their proper research.

[Eden Shae]

12:07 AM on 04/12/2012

I know 4 Marines and 2 Navy Seamen on this MEU. This is very devastating news. If we could have support for the Military Families that would be wonderful. Thank you for your prayers and support.

R.I.P. Simper Fi, Hooah

[silver45]

03:26 AM on 04/12/2012

There are no Navy Seamen (SN) in the MEU. They are Navy Corpsmen. (HM)

[L Ruggles]

06:40 AM on 04/12/2012

No, the Corpsman are just the medics. They are plenty of Seamen on this MEU. My husband's on this MEU, and the majority of people on the MEU are in fact, Navy Seamen.

[slaterlabsmot]

07:24 AM on 04/12/2012

There would be plenty of Seaman attached directly to the amphibious ship.

[marine1942]

10:55 PM on 04/11/2012

Our President just forgot we had troops over there. But then they are in Germany, Japan, India, south Korea, Great Britian, Austriala, Yemen, Keyna, Isreal, Greece, Italy, Spain, Brazil, France,heck. Too many to name. Thanks Obama.
We not only send jobs overseas we send (and keep ) our troops overseas.

[LAKERNATION]

12:58 AM on 04/12/2012

so whats your point in relation to this accident?

[marine1942]

07:34 AM on 04/12/2012

I am sorry for my fellow Marines.
We need to bring out troops home.

[silver45]

03:45 AM on 04/12/2012

Since the United States has had forces stationed abroad "before" President Washington became president, I really miss what you are trying to say or imply.

[marine1942]

07:36 AM on 04/12/2012

USA did not have troops stationed abroad. We sent our military overseas to attack.
Big difference.
Maybe you enjoy aiding the economy of these nations but I do not.
We have the power.