An AFSOC CV-22 Osprey flies over the New Mexico/Colorado wilderness. All V-22s with low-time proprotor gearboxes must undergo inspections to return to flight. (US Air Force)
The Bell-Boeing V-22 has been cleared to fly again following a 14-day suspension, according to a press release by Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), which administers V-22 airworthiness worldwide, according to a 20 December statement.
NAVAIR issued a new interim flight clearance for V-22s with proprotor gearboxes that have operated less than an undisclosed number of hours; those with a greater number of hours were cleared to resume flights under a March 2024 clearance. The new clearance for low-time proprotor gearboxes entails “additional risk mitigation controls”, the statement said, declining to disclose details or the number of aircraft affected, citing operational security.
The flight clearances follow restrictions placed after a 20 November precautionary landing by a US Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) CV-22. The tiltrotor landed following an unspecified “material failure that has not been seen before”, AFSOC told Janes on 9 December.
The V-22 has been grounded several times due to issues with the proprotor gearbox. The V-22s were most recently grounded in December 2023, following a fatal CV-22 accident in Yakushima, Japan, which was traced to failure of the pinion gears within the gearbox. No root cause was identified, and the V-22s gradually began returning to flight in March 2024 following inspections.
In February 2023 some AFSOC and US Marine Corps (USMC) V-22s were grounded following a series of hard clutch engagements – when the engine clutch disengages and suddenly re-engages. Although the hard clutch engagements were traced to worn quill inputs.
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