What was that loud plane flying over SLO? Military conducts training for grounded aircraft
An osprey was sighted over San Luis Obispo County on Monday morning — but this one had rotors, not feathers.
At around 11 a.m., a U.S. Air Force V-22 Osprey aircraft was spotted circling around the San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport for a training exercise, deputy director of airports Courtney Pene told The Tribune.
“United States military aircraft stop at SLO County airport on a regular basis, they do not have to advise the airport when they will be here nor when the aircraft will depart,” Pene said.
Though Ospreys are flown by the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force, all active V-22 Osprey aircraft have been grounded since Dec. 6 following a Nov. 29 crash that killed eight airmen off the coast of Japan according to the U.S. Department of Defense.
The cause of the crash was found to be a “materiel failure” of an unidentified V-22 component that has since been rectified, the Department of Defense said in a March 8 statement.
Because of that, the U.S. Military has allowed the Osprey to return to flight.
“Maintenance and procedural changes have been implemented to address the materiel failure that allow for a safe return to flight,” the release said.
