Pilot error caused Osprey crash in Norway that killed four Marines: report

"The steepness of the turn resulted in the loss of both airspeed and altitude," the report stated

By Ben Whedon

Published: August 15, 2022 6:03pm

Updated: August 16, 2022 9:08am

Pilot error caused the fatal crash of a United States Marine Corps Osprey in March during a training exercise, according to a U.S.M.C. investigation report.

The Osprey with the call sign of Ghost 31 went down during the Exercise Cold Response 2022 training operation, killing all four Marines aboard, according to Fox News. The Marine Corps report concluded that a maneuver the pilot made while in flight caused the deadly incident.

"The steepness of the turn resulted in the loss of both airspeed and altitude, followed by an overcorrected maneuver with a right turn in excess of 80 degrees from which the aircraft could not recover," the report reads.

Capt. Matthew Tomkiewicz, Capt. Ross Reynolds, Gunnery Sgt. James Speedy, and Cpl. Jacob Moore were aboard the aircraft when it crashed. It remains unknown who was piloting the Osprey at the time, Fox also reports.

Exercise Cold Response is a recurring NATO exercise to prepare troops for operations in the Arctic. The 2022 exercise included roughly 30,000 troops from 27 nations and took place across March and April of this year, a press release from the military bloc stated.