Osprey Fire Injures Marine

A Marine was injured during another Osprey engine fire incident on March 14th – just a few days before the $10bn contract for producing the tilt-rotor was signed.

Thanks to Springboredfor spotting this one, a story carried by Amarillo.com:

Lance Cpl. TeJay Adams has returned to duty at Marine Corps Air Station New River after inhalation of halon, a fire-suppression agent, sent him to Camp LeJeune Naval Hospital's intensive care unit, where he spent three days on a respirator.

"It gets in your lungs and sucks out all the oxygen," said Adams, 20. "That's what it does with fire also. "I'm good now. I'm just a little short of breath every once in a while."

*Adams was among four Marines who battled a blaze that erupted in the right engine of an MV-22 Osprey as it prepared for takeoff on March 14 at the air base, which is part of Camp LeJeune, according to 1st Lt. Ryan Powell, a public affairs officer.
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*"Several others were thought to have inhaled the halon," Powell said. **
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*"They all went (to the hospital) to be checked as a safety measure. He was the only one held for observation. He had the worst inhalation." *

This problem with engines bursting into flames has happened before, as we reported in November. This happens with earlier Block A MV-22s in the US (it does not affect the Block B aircraft in Iraq). The problem is with the engine air particle separator (EAPS), a blower that keep sand, dust and other damaging particles out of the engine; when it jams, a fire can result.

At present the Block B aircraft only have a temporary fix; at some point a permanent solution will be needed, with the attendant costs. That solution now looks more urgent than ever.

This latest incident is unlikely to affect the Osprey program: it may be vulnerable to ground fire, but the aircraft is completely bullet-proof when it comes to surviving political hardships, in spite of all the problems (including fatal crashes during development) and the questions which still remain over its design and capabilities -- like the requirement for new engines, the need for a turret gun etc., etc.

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