WASHINGTON (BLOOMBERG) — The December 11 crash of a Textron Inc. and Boeing Co. V-22 Osprey near New River, North Carolina, may have been caused by a hydraulic malfunction, according to preliminary information recovered from the aircraft’s flight data recorder, the Marine Corps said Thursday.
An initial review of data from the recorder shows the aircraft experienced a hydraulic problem but “the magnitude of the malfunction or whether it relates to the mishap is not yet known,” the Marines said in a statement. Pieces of the V-22, which killed four marines when it crashed in a remote forest, are being re-assembled for examination, the statement said.
There is no evidence so far that the accident was caused by fuel running out, an in-flight-fire, electrical malfunctions or pilot disorientation caused by the use of night vision goggles, the Marines said.
The crash was the second fatal crash this year of one of the aircraft and prompted Defense Secretary William Cohen to order an investigation into the troubled $40 billion program.
