Overview
- Government auditors reported 18 serious, non‑combat Osprey accidents in fiscal 2023–2024, with rates 36% to 88% higher than each service’s prior eight‑year averages.
- Four fatal crashes since 2022 killed 20 service members, with investigations identifying hard clutch engagements and brittle gearbox gear defects as causal factors.
- NAVAIR’s comprehensive review reaffirmed airworthiness but found risks were allowed to accumulate for years, issuing 32 recommendations including a midlife upgrade and targeted component fixes.
- GAO found the Joint Program Office and services lacked routine cross‑service sharing of hazard, maintenance and emergency‑procedure data, and it urged a clear oversight structure with periodic reviews; the Defense Department concurred.
- Readiness and sustainment shortfalls persist, including roughly double the Navy’s unscheduled maintenance rate, about 22 maintenance hours per flight hour, mission‑capable rates near 50%–60%, ongoing overwater restrictions, and multi‑year timelines for gearbox fixes into the early 2030s.