Osprey aircraft overflight
Thomas Pringle questioned why Osprey aircraft flew over Dublin after a US investigation had found the type suffered a serious mechanical failure. After his time expired, the Taoiseach said he would ask the relevant Minister to answer directly.
Several deadly US Airforce Osprey aircraft crashes have taken place in recent years, one of which occurred in June 2022 when five US marines were killed in southern California. Following this, the US Marine Corps published its investigation on 21 June 2023 which stated that the mishap was due to an unpreventable mechanical failure and not any error on the part of the pilots, crew or maintenance personnel. Despite the publication of this report, a US military flyover, including Osprey aircraft, flew over Dublin as part of an American football event in the Aviva Stadium on 25 August 2023. This was just two months after the publication of the crash report and just two days before a further three marines were killed when their Osprey aircraft crashed during a training exercise off the northern coast of Australia. Three months later, eight airmen were killed in another crash in Japan. Following this, the US military grounded all its Osprey aircraft until the beginning of this year. Did the Minister know about this report published by the US Marine Corps in 2023-----
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-----before Osprey aircraft were given permission to fly over Dublin in August that year? If not, why not? If so, why was this allowed before the safety recommendations were implemented?
