A number of V-22 ospreys have been grounded, until a part at risk of failure is replaced.
According to Stars and Stripes, there are about 296 ospreys on active duty with the Marine Corps.
Department of Defense officials have not specified how many Ospreys have been grounded.
A Marine Corps Spokesperson at the Pentagon, told KAWC via e-mail, he was not able to provide any information about whether any of the Ospreys at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma had been grounded, due to “operational security.”
Marine Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron One, based at MCAS Yuma, conducts testing on several military aircraft, including the Osprey.
The grounded Ospreys, have reached a certain number of flight hours, officials with the U-S Navy said in a statement Saturday.
Once the part is replaced, the grounded Ospreys will be returned to flight status.
The Osprey has a history of mechanical issues.
The U-S Naval Institute reports, that last June, an MV-22-B Osprey — assigned to a squadron based at Camp Pendleton, California — crashed in Glamis, a sandy area northwest of Yuma.
Five Marines on board were killed.
It is unknown if that crash was caused by the faulty part, as the incident remains under investigation.
Wired reports, that to date, about 51 people have died as a result of crashing Ospreys.
During testing from 1991 to 2000, there were four crashes resulting in 30 fatalities. And, since becoming operational in 2007, there have been at least eight crashes.