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MV-22 Ospreys from VMM-261 “The Raging Bulls”
at Harstad Port in Harstad, Norway, on Feb. 19, 2022.
Katrina Herrera / U.S. Marine Corps via DVIDS file
A U.S. military aircraft that was said to have four service members aboard crashed during a NATO exercise in Norway, officials said Friday.
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The Marine MV-22 Osprey went missing during an extreme weather exercise called Cold Response but has since been located. It was not clear what condition it was in, a U.S. military official said.
Weather prevented a helicopter from landing at the crash site, and the condition of those aboard was not clear, the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre North Norway said.
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“We’ve discovered an aircraft that has crashed. We’ve seen no sign of life,” Nordland police chief of staff Bent Eilertsen told Reuters.
Emergency services were working to send a rescue team, the coordination center said.
The Osprey, which is a tilt-rotor aircraft, was taking part in a cold weather exercise and there was bad weather at the time of the incident, the U.S. official said.
The II Marine Expeditionary Force said in a statement it was aware of the incident, which is being assessed.
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“Norwegian civil authorities are leading the search and rescue efforts at this time,” it said. “We are grateful for their efforts and will assist them … in all manners possible.”
The plane was on a training exercise and had been due to land at around 1800 CET (1700 GMT). Weather was bad in the area, with conditions worsening.
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