The key US ally had sought the suspension of all non-emergency V-22 Osprey flights over its territory after one fell into the sea on Wednesday in western Japan.
Until the cause of this one is determined, the only V-22 crash that wasn’t pilot error was due to a maintenance error where a mechanic wired the controls backwards.
Pilot error is rarely the actual cause, but is a convenient scapegoat. I worked in rotary accident investigation in the Army and that’s not something you’ll read in a report. There’s other issues; why is this aircraft in particular so prone to pilot error? Perhaps it’s poorly designed?
It’s because it’s a heavy rotorcraft. Not poor design, just rotorcraft physics. It’s prone to enter a vortex ring state if the descent rate in relation to forward velocity is too high. The same thing can happen with any normal helicopter, but the V-22 has a lot of weight for the disk area of it’s rotors, giving stronger vortices from the rotors.
It’s a pilot training thing, but I think they did put some sort of alert system on it if it’s getting close to the conditions that induce VRS.
Yes, but slower and less range than fixed wing. Likewise, it can’t do rotary wing things as good as a helicopter. It’s truly a “master of none” aircraft. It’s not great at anything.
Putting it in a rescue role is a terrible idea. You do not want a finicky to fly, unreliable aircraft in that scenario.
Until the cause of this one is determined, the only V-22 crash that wasn’t pilot error was due to a maintenance error where a mechanic wired the controls backwards.
Pilot error is rarely the actual cause, but is a convenient scapegoat. I worked in rotary accident investigation in the Army and that’s not something you’ll read in a report. There’s other issues; why is this aircraft in particular so prone to pilot error? Perhaps it’s poorly designed?
It’s because it’s a heavy rotorcraft. Not poor design, just rotorcraft physics. It’s prone to enter a vortex ring state if the descent rate in relation to forward velocity is too high. The same thing can happen with any normal helicopter, but the V-22 has a lot of weight for the disk area of it’s rotors, giving stronger vortices from the rotors.
It’s a pilot training thing, but I think they did put some sort of alert system on it if it’s getting close to the conditions that induce VRS.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vortex_ring_state
https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/2022/06/28/ntsb-jim-clayton-fault-fatal-tennessee-river-helicopter-crash/7760608001/
https://verticalmag.com/news/ntsb-report-virginia-state-police-helicopter-crash/
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_mwUCiiEHos
Like I said, poor design. Wrong tool for the job.
It can’t travel slow enough for blackhawks nor fast enough for fixed wing. The V-22 is an absolute turd.
I thought they were designed for things like marine search and rescue, where speed is important and the ability to hover is essential.
They’re great at this, but the pilot needs to stay within the operating envelope, same as any helicopter.
All rotorcraft are dangerous compared to any fixed wing aircraft. It’s a lot less forgiving on pilots and maintenance crews.
Well, they’re not fast (prop too big) nor are they particularly great at hovering (rotor too small).
It’s the worst of both worlds.
They’re faster than any conventional helicopter, right?
Yes, but slower and less range than fixed wing. Likewise, it can’t do rotary wing things as good as a helicopter. It’s truly a “master of none” aircraft. It’s not great at anything.
Putting it in a rescue role is a terrible idea. You do not want a finicky to fly, unreliable aircraft in that scenario.
Read all the links, it’s nothing unique to the V-22. All rotorcraft suffer from the same condition.
Pilots just have to be careful while descending with low forward velocity.
I repeat - tiny heavily loaded rotors are the wrong tool for the job thus making it a bad design
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Interesting, I heard it had a very bad reputation for it’s reliability, but I guess it’s just that it’s extremely hard to control then.