‘SIGNIFICANT FIRE’

Air Traffic Control Audio Released After Osprey Crash Killed 3 U.S. Marines

One of the voices can be heard “declaring an emergency” before the fatal incident.

Air traffic control audio captures the moments in the aftermath of a deadly Osprey crash in Australia over the weekend that left three U.S. Marines dead. Some 23 personnel were on board the tiltrotor aircraft when it crashed during a multinational training exercise at Melville Island off the coast of Australia’s Northern Territory on Sunday morning, with eight Marines still hospitalized with injuries as of Monday, local officials said. “We are just declaring an emergency on behalf of Dumptruck 11 flight single MV-22 in the vicinity of Melville Island,” an American voice can be heard saying on air traffic control audio published by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on Monday. Around six minutes later, air traffic control says, “Search and rescue is requesting if there’s a fire?” “Confirm, there’s a significant fire in the vicinity of the crash site,” a voice says in reply. Local authorities who responded to the wreck expressed surprise that 20 Marines were able to survive the incident, with an investigation now underway into what caused the crash.