Squadron cheers MV-22 landing

[thedrifter]

Article ran : 02/07/2003
Squadron cheers MV-22 landing
By ERIC STEINKOPFF
DAILY NEWS STAFF
More than two years after an MV-22 Osprey crash that killed four New River Air Station Marines, the aircraft made its first stop at the air station Thursday during a test flight.



?We?ve waited a long time for this day,? said Col. Dick Dunnivan, commander of Marine Medium Tiltrotor Training Squadron 204. ?This is a big morale boost to see it come here.?



The aircraft, which takes off and lands like a helicopter but can fly like a plane, was grounded following two crashes in 2000 that claimed the lives of 23 Marines, several of whom were stationed at New River which is home to the Osprey training squadron. The last crash occurred in December 2000 just outside Jacksonville.



Testing has been under way to determine the Osprey?s future. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and his top deputies will make the decision whether to continue the multi-billion-dollar program. Thus far Pentagon officials have remained skeptical.



Everything seemed OK Thursday afternoon as the Osprey descended in helicopter mode. The aircraft slowed, touching down briefly at the intersection of two runways, then lifted back into the air for another approach amid cheers from more than 100 aviation specialists associated with the program.



After circling the airfield, the pilots landed the Osprey before a crowd of media, technicians and a few family members.



After they walked off the aircraft, crew chiefs Staff Sgt. Mike A. Schneider and Gunnery Sgt. Denis M. Oliverio were mobbed like heroes returning from war.



?This is our hour, and this is the tip of the spear for the Marine Corps,? said Schneider, 30, from Marquette, Mich.



?It?s good to come back and give the guys a chance to see it fly,? said Oliverio, 34, from Boston.



?This is the first time that people are actually glad to see me,? he joked.



Oliverio started with the Osprey program in 1997 as a crew chief. His job was to look at the aircraft from an operational perspective. When test flights began again last spring, he was there to help work out the bugs.



?The most challenging part is explaining that the beginning phase of any aircraft program is going to have a few hiccups,? Oliverio said. ?It?s tough, and I?ve lost some friends, but it kind of makes you stronger.?



Recent testing included shipboard qualifications aboard USS Iwo Jima in January and air delivery at Fort Bragg this past week.



At the Army base, the Osprey crew dropped cargo pallets out of the rear of the aircraft. The pallets slide out on rollers, then a parachute opens to slow the cargo?s descent and insure a safe landing.



Although no paratroopers jumped, the two crew chiefs did use specially weighted dummies on standard parachutes to simulate how a jumper would exit the aircraft.



While on the ground for about an hour at New River, the Osprey team picked up a refueling probe. It will be installed on one of the MV-22s to evaluate aerial refueling later in the test flights.



Contact Eric Steinkopff at


esteinkopff@jdnews.com or 353-1171, Ext. 236.


Sempers,

Roger