US military plane with four on board crashes in Norway

The V-22, an aircraft that can also take off and land vertically, crashed as weather conditions deteriorated in the Arctic. The plane was reported missing at 5:26 p.m. south of Bodø in northern Norway. At 9:17 p.m. the plane was located from the air near Gråtådalen in Beiarn.

The wreckage was later spotted from the air by the rescue services. “We found him after receiving a distress signal,” rescuers said. The condition of the four people on board the plane is unknown.

Due to poor weather conditions, the crash site is not accessible by air, and emergency services are trying to get to the plane’s site by land. Police say it will likely be hours before they are on the scene.

The US military has confirmed an “incident” involving a Navy Osprey aircraft. “The cause of the incident is under investigation,” spokesman Jim Stenger said. “As soon as more details are known, we will announce them.”

NATO exercise

The American plane took part in the NATO exercise “Cold Response 2022”. This exercise started last Monday and will last until April 1st. Thirty thousand soldiers from 27 countries, including the Netherlands, and about 200 aircraft and 50 ships are deployed.

The “Cold Response 2022” exercise is intended to test the ability of Norway, which borders Russia in the far north, to receive allied reinforcements in the event of external aggression. Article 5 of the Alliance’s charter obliges all members of the alliance to come to the rescue in the event of an attack against one of them.

Allied forces are also trained in cold weather combat.