Bladen County military aircraft fire broke out Thursday morning when an MV-22B Osprey carrying four Marines ignited and hard-landed in Bladen Lakes State Forest in North Carolina. Jim McVicker said the aircraft went down during a training exercise.
One Marine suffered burns and was rushed to a nearby clinic for treatment, White Lake Fire Chief Dale Brennan said. All four Marines received medical care after the aviation mishap, and civilian and military emergency services responded to the site.
Bladen Lakes State Forest response
McVicker said the Osprey was in the Bladen Lakes State Forest area when it ignited and hard-landed. The aircraft belonged to the Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron based out of Air Station New River, and Air Station New River had training exercises planned that week.
Multiple fire crews were on the scene working to put out the fire. The aircraft carried 6,000 pounds of jet fuel, which added to the work at the site as responders tried to control the blaze and reach the Marines aboard.
Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron
The timing matched a broader training period tied to Air Station New River. On Oct. 8, Camp Lejeune said personnel and visitors may notice increased exercise and emergency-response activity in the French Creek area and advised people to avoid the area if possible between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.
The Osprey crash is now under investigation. For people near Bladen Lakes State Forest, the immediate issue is the active response at the site and the follow-up inquiry into what caused the aircraft to ignite and hard-land during a training exercise.
The next step is the investigation, which will have to sort out whether the fire began before impact or during the hard landing and how the 6,000 pounds of jet fuel affected the scene.
