The Marine Corps confirmed Thursday that all five Marines on board an Osprey were killed when the plane crashed in the California desert near the Arizona border.
The Marine Corps statement provided no additional information.
The MV-22B Osprey was shot down at 12:25 p.m. Wednesday during training in Imperial County near Glamis, about 115 miles east of San Diego.
According to Maj. Mason Englehart, a wing spokesperson, the aircraft was based at Camp Pendleton with Marine Aircraft Group 39 and was part of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, which is headquartered at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego.
The Osprey is a hybrid airplane and helicopter that has been criticized for its safety record. It can take off and land like a helicopter but transit as a turboprop aircraft.
Versions of the aircraft are flown by the Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force.
Prior to Wednesday’s crash, Osprey crashes had claimed the lives of 46 people, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Recently, four Marines were killed when a Marine Corps Osprey crashed near a Norwegian town in the Arctic Circle while participating in a NATO exercise on March 18. Three Marines were killed in 2017 when their MV-22B Osprey crashed off the coast of Queensland, Australia. One Marine was killed and 21 others were injured in 2015 after their MV-22 Osprey caught fire during a “hard landing” in Hawaii.
