A rare Osprey landed in Mount Isa this week, though this was human technology not a bird of prey.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
This US Marines Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey stopped to refuel in Mount Isa on Tuesday on its way from the Northern Territory to Townsville.
The Osprey is an American multi-mission, tiltrotor military aircraft with both vertical takeoff and landing and short takeoff and landing capabilities.
It is designed to combine the functionality of a conventional helicopter with the long-range, high-speed cruise performance of a turboprop aircraft.
The United States Marine Corps began training for the Osprey in 2000 and fielded it in 2007.
The United States Air Force fielded their version in 2009.
The Osprey has been deployed in transportation and medevac operations over Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Kuwait.
A similar US military aircraft, the MV-22B Osprey, crashed off Shoalwater Bay in Rockhampton on August 5 killing three Marines.
The wreckage of that plane was recovered and taken to Townsville Monday though it is not known if there is any connection with the above aircraft that was due in Townville a day later.
Derek Barry
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
