A military Osprey aircraft, assigned to the United States, experienced an accident during a training exercise in North Carolina on Thursday morning, October 8th. The aircraft caught fire in the air and had to perform a forced landing. On board were four Marine Corps members, with one sustaining severe burns and being rushed to the hospital, while the other three suffered minor injuries with no life-threatening conditions.
The incident also triggered a forest fire in the surrounding area, prompting multiple rescue departments to swiftly respond to the scene for containment.
Sheriff Jim McVicker of Bladen County confirmed to local media outlet WECT that the Osprey aircraft caught fire in the air during training and subsequently made a forced landing in the Bladen Lakes State Forest area.
The accident took place near Pappy Tatum Landing Zone and Sweet Home Church Road in the vicinity of Elizabethtown. This area includes a military landing zone used year-round for flight training and accident simulation exercises by the U.S. Marine Corps.
Dale Brennan, the Fire Chief of White Lake Fire Department, stated in an interview with WWAY News that the Osprey aircraft was carrying approximately 6,000 pounds of aviation fuel at the time of the incident. Following the crash, the plane was engulfed in flames and produced thick black smoke at the scene. The fire rapidly spread to surrounding trees, confirmed by the North Carolina Department of Forestry as causing a forest fire. About 6 to 7 fire departments and North Carolina State Highway Patrol rushed to the site for assistance and to secure the area.
Due to the aircraft’s significant fuel load and military assets involved, after the rescue teams sealed off the area, they awaited personnel from the Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune to arrive to determine specific strategies, including the use of foam for firefighting.
Reportedly, the four Marine Corps members aboard the aircraft are from Camp Lejeune or the nearby Marine Corps Air Station New River. The critically injured Marine has been airlifted to the UNC Jaycee Burn Center in Chapel Hill for treatment, while the identities and specific conditions of all injured personnel are not disclosed at the moment. The three other lightly injured members received initial treatment on-site and were subsequently arranged by the military for transport back to the base.
Prior to the incident, Camp Lejeune had issued a notice on its official website, advising base personnel and visitors that there would be increased exercises and emergency response activities in the French Creek area throughout Thursday, suggesting individuals avoid the region between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.
The U.S. Marine Corps has yet to confirm the specific unit to which the Osprey aircraft belongs. An investigative team has been dispatched to the site, and the root cause of the accident remains under further investigation.