The Pentagon will lift the ban on flights by the grounded V-22 Osprey next week, U.S. officials told The Associated Press on Friday. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin endorsed the military services’ plans for a safe and measured return to operations at a high-level meeting.
Naval Air Systems Command, which grounded the Osprey three months ago, will lift the ban and allow the services to begin implementing their plans to get the aircraft back into the air. The decision follows a meeting where Austin met with the top service leaders for the Navy and Air Force.
The Osprey has been grounded for almost three months following a Nov. 29 Air Force Special Operations Command crash in Japan that killed eight service members. The Japan incident and an earlier August Osprey crash in Australia that killed three Marines are still under investigation.
The decision to end the flight ban is up to Naval Air Systems Command, but Austin’s endorsement of the services’ plan was seen as a key step. The services have worked on plans to mitigate the known material failure by conducting additional safety checks and establishing a new, more conservative approach to how the Osprey is operated.
