4 Marines killed in crash of Osprey aircraft

V-22 Osprey

JACKSONVILLE, North Carolina (CNN)-- Four Marines were killed Monday night in the crash of a V-22 Osprey tilt rotor aircraft that went down in a heavily wooded area near the Camp Lejeune Marine base in southeastern North Carolina, the Marine Corps told CNN.

The crash occurred in a remote area. Recovery personnel had to use bulldozers to reach the site, according to Marine Corps spokesman Pat Gibbons. The site is about 10 miles from Jacksonville, North Carolina.

Camp Lejeune officials said the Osprey had been conducting a routine night training mission.

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The aircraft belongs to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Training Squadron 204, based at Marine Corps Air Station New River, North Carolina.

Military officials said early information from the squadron indicated the aircraft was being flown by a standard, four-Marine crew, with no passengers on board.

The crash comes eight months after the fatal crash of an Osprey in Arizona which killed 19 Marines.

The Osprey takes off and lands like a helicopter, but flies like an airplane. The military maintains that the Osprey is vital to the future of Marine Corps aviation.

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V-22 Osprey
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