ARLINGTON, Va. — A Marine Corps MV-22B Osprey tilt-rotor transport aircraft crashed in Norway on March 18, killing all four Marine crewmen on board.
The Osprey, assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 261 (VMM-261), based at Marine Corps Air Station New River, North Carolina, was on a flight south of Bodo, Norway, when it crashed while supporting NATO’s Exercise Cold Response 2022.
Killed in the crash were Capt. Matthew J. Tomkiewicz of Fort Wayne, Indiana; Capt. Ross A. Reynolds of Leominster, Massachusetts; Gunnery Sgt. James W. Speedy of Cambridge, Ohio; and Cpl. Jacob M. Moore of Catlettsburg, Kentucky, according to a March 21 release from the II Marine Expeditionary Force.
Norwegian agencies, including the Royal Norwegian Air Force’s 330 Squadron and the Hoved Redning Sentralen civil emergency and response organization led in locating the aircraft’s wreckage and in recovery of the bodies of the victims.
“The pilots and crew were committed to accomplishing their mission and serving a cause greater than themselves,” said Maj. Gen. Michael Cederholm, commanding general, 2d Marine Aircraft Wing, in a release. “We will continue to execute the mission while keeping these Marines and their service in the forefront of our minds. We will never allow these Marines and their service to go unnoticed or unappreciated. Keep these Marines and their loved ones in your thoughts and prayers.”
The mishap is under investigation.
