Marines from Camp Pendleton were among those involved in a fatal MV-22B Osprey aircraft crash in Australia on Sunday. The crash resulted in three deaths and left 20 others injured, according to military officials.
The fiery crash occurred at around 9:30 a.m. on Melville Island, located just north of the mainland city of Darwin, during a routine training exercise. A total of 23 military personnel were onboard at the time, as per the statement released by officials with the Marine Rotational Force – Darwin.
All of the troops involved in the crash were from squadrons based out of Camp Pendleton and Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, as clarified by U.S. Marine officials. The three individuals killed in the crash were identified as Corporal Spencer R. Collart, Captain Eleanor LeBeau, and Major Tobin Lewis, all from the Hawaii squadron.
Twenty Marines onboard reported injuries and were transported to Royal Darwin Hospital. Of those injured, 17 have since been discharged, while three remain hospitalized, with one in critical condition and two in stable condition.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation. The troops involved in the crash were flying in support of Exercise Predator’s Run, a 12-day exercise involving militaries from Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and East Timor.
The Osprey is a hybrid aircraft that takes off and lands like a helicopter, but can rotate its propellers forward during flight to cruise like an airplane. To date, there have been five fatal crashes involving Marine Ospreys since 2012, resulting in a total of 16 deaths.