US military aircraft crashes in Norway

Reports coming in from Norway say that US military aircraft crashes during NATO exercises in Norway. According to a report by CNN four people aboard the plane have gone missing with the Osprey aircraft spotted with “major damage.”

A statement released by the Norwegian Armed Forces said: “The MV-22B Osprey aircraft, assigned to the II Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF) US military unit, was on a training mission in Nordland County, northern Norway on Friday with a crew of four.”

Police chief of staff, Bent Arne Eilertsen told public broadcaster NRK on Saturday.March 19^th that the aircraft was spotted from a rescue helicopter, and appeared to have crashed in the municipality and appears to have sustained “major damage.”

According to NATO’s website: “The aircraft was participating in Exercise Cold Response 2022,” a long-planned exercise bringing together NATO allies and their partners which aims to test their ability to work together in cold weather conditions.

“Although the nature of military service is inherently dangerous, the safety of our Marines, Sailors, Allies and partners is our top priority.”

As of early Saturday local time, rescuers had not had any contact with the aircraft, with bad weather hampering the rescue operation.

Eilertsen said that the area had to be approached by land with: “Precipitation, avalanche danger, wind and darkness make such a rescue operation demanding.”

According to a spokesperson the aircraft was reported missing at 6:26 p.m. local time Friday while heading toward the town of Bodø, located north of the Arctic Circle, the Norwegian Joint Rescue Coordination Center (JRCC). The aircraft’s last known position was by Saltfjellet, a mountainous area of Nordland county, the statement added.

The Norwegian Safety Investigation Authority and The National Criminal Investigation Service will arrive in Bodø on Saturday and start their investigation at the town’s airport.

Rescuing the US military aircraft that crashes is being hampered by bad weather in Norway, with rescuers only likely to reach the site on Sunday.

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