Osprey ferrying White House staff in New York grounded after flames spotted under engine

An Osprey with White House staff onboard was grounded due to safety concerns after flames were reportedly spotted under the right engine.

The White House staff and officials being ferried from an event in New York were removed from the aircraft and transferred to a second Osprey on Monday. The staff were on a trip to accompany president Joe Biden at a "Friendsgiving" event with members of the US Coast Guard in Staten Island.

A journalist traveling with the president reported seeing a fire under the right engine shortly before staff were notified that the Osprey – part of the Marine Corps HMX-1 presidential helicopter fleet – would be grounded.

The incident took place the same day three lawmakers sent a letter to defence secretary Lloyd Austin asking him to re-ground the military's entire fleet of V-22 Ospreys until solutions can be put in place to address safety and design issues.

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Senator Elizabeth Warren, senator Ed Markey, and representative Richard Neal urged Mr Austin to ground the entire V-22 fleet and not redeploy "until the platform’s significant deficiencies are fully addressed".

The letter was sent after an investigation by the Associated Press found that Osprey, which flies both like a helicopter and an airplane, has been in more than 21 major accidents, many of which can be tied back to choices made in its design.

The whole fleet was grounded for three months this year following a deadly crash in Japan in November 2023 that killed eight service members. Ospreys, which are operated by the Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps and used in the presidential fleet, have now returned to flight operations, with some restrictions.

The US Air Force in August said the deadly crash last November was caused by cracks in a metal gear and the pilot’s decision to keep flying, instead of heeding multiple warnings that he should land.

The aircraft had been reportedly approved to return to limited flight operations, but only with tight restrictions in place that currently keep it from doing some of the aircraft carrier, amphibious transport and special operations missions it was purchased for. The Osprey's joint programme office within the Pentagon has said those restrictions are likely to remain in place until mid-2025.

Earlier this month, Japan grounded its fleet of V-22 Osprey aircraft again following an incident where one of the hybrid helicopter-aircraft tilted unexpectedly and hit the ground while trying to take off.

The V-22 was taking part in the joint US military exercise Keen Sword and carrying 16 passengers, including three US service members, when during takeoff it “became unstable".

The craft "swayed from side to side, and the left wing, the lower part of the aircraft came into contact with the ground and part of the aircraft was damaged, so the flight was aborted”, Japan’s Ground Self Defense Forces said in a statement.

The Osprey, loved by pilots for its ability to fly fast to a target like an airplane and land on it like a helicopter, is ageing faster than expected, with parts of it failing in unexpected ways. It has been held responsible for the death of at least 20 service members so far.