{"id":39818,"date":"2022-09-07T21:21:10","date_gmt":"2022-09-07T21:21:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2022\/09\/07\/air-force-special-ops-osprey-stuck-in-norway-wilderness-after-mishap\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T21:21:07","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T21:21:07","slug":"air-force-special-ops-osprey-stuck-in-norway-wilderness-after-mishap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2022\/09\/07\/air-force-special-ops-osprey-stuck-in-norway-wilderness-after-mishap\/","title":{"rendered":"Air Force special ops Osprey stuck in Norway wilderness after mishap"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Editor\u2019s note: This story was updated Sept. 8 at 11:32 a.m. to include more information from the Norwegian Armed Forces and U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A CV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft belonging to the U.S. Air Force is stranded at a Norwegian nature preserve after suffering a mechanical failure in flight, the head of Air Force Special Operations Command confirmed Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Osprey has sat among the ferns and salamanders of the High North since Aug. 12, when the tiltrotor system\u2019s erratic clutch forced airmen to make an emergency landing at the Stongodden preserve on the island of Senja in Troms, Norway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The area\u2019s tricky terrain and weather now create a confounding rescue mission even for special ops airmen, who are trained to extract troops from remote locations around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese things never seem to happen at airfields,\u201d AFSOC boss Lt. Gen. Jim Slife lamented during a discussion hosted by the Air and Space Forces Association. \u201cThey always seem to happen in Norwegian nature preserves above the Arctic Circle at the onset of winter.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A photo provided by the Norwegian Armed Forces on Thursday shows the CV-22 at rest on a lush green plateau on the edge of the Norwegian Sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Norwegian Armed Forces have together with the environmental protection office at the County Governor made a plan to retrieve the Osprey from the nature reserve, in dialogue with the U.S. Air Force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lt. Col. Eivind Byre, a spokesperson for Norway\u2019s military, told Air Force Times that the U.S. and Norwegian troops worked with the environmental protection office in Norway\u2019s northernmost county on a plan to retrieve the Osprey. They hope to launch that operation early next week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Norwegians plan to build a small wooden road that will protect vulnerable wildlife at the reserve while they shimmy the aircraft closer to shore. Then a boat equipped with a massive crane will get as close to the Osprey as possible without running aground in shallow water, pick up the plane and move it elsewhere for repairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe aircraft is damaged but the extent is unknown,\u201d AFSOC spokesperson Lt. Col. Becky Heyse said. \u201cWith other similar incidents, the gearbox had to be replaced, and, in some instances, the engine as well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Officials are now waiting for the crane boat to arrive, Byre said Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWeather and wind in Norway this time of the year can change quite quickly, and is an important factor to consider,\u201d Byre said. \u201cStongodden is located quite remotely.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 7th Special Operations Squadron at RAF Mildenhall in England owns the stuck CV-22, according to the Dutch Aviation Society\u2019s website, Scramble. It\u2019s unclear what mission the Air Force crew was tasked with at the time of the incident, or what happened to them after they landed the Osprey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Multiple recent clutch malfunctions, including the incident in Norway, led the Air Force to temporarily ground the 52-aircraft fleet from Aug. 16 to Sept. 2. Service officials have discussed a way forward with the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, which also fly V-22 variants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re in the midst of a recovery process to get that airplane to a place where we can swap out the engines and the gearboxes and all the things that need to be replaced. That\u2019s underway right now,\u201d Slife said.<\/p>\n\n\n\t