KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Nineteen Marines were killed last night in a training mission involving a military aircraft. Officials say 15 passengers and four crew members were aboard the tilt-rotor Osprey when it suddenly pitched nose-first into the ground at the airport in Marana, Arizona, about 25 miles from Tucson. With us now from the Pentagon with the latest on the accident is CNN military affairs correspondent, Jamie McIntyre -- Jamie.</s>JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kyra. The U.S. Marine Corps has not yet released the identity of those 19 Marines who died in the crash of the V-22 near that airport in Tucson. The tilt-rotor aircraft was apparently heading to the airport to pick up some more fuel when it crashed. There were two of the V- 22s flying together, part of test flights that are being conducted before the V-22 goes into full production next year. According to some eyewitnesses, the tilt-rotor plane seemed to catch fire before it crashed. The Pentagon is saying only that the exercise involved the use of night vision goggles, and said it was far too early to speculate on the -- on exactly what happened. The V-22 is designed to take off like a helicopter and then rotate its propellers to fly like a plane. It's been somewhat controversial. The program was killed by the Pentagon during the Bush administration back in 1992, but then it was revived by the Clinton administration the following year at the urging of the Marine Corps, which says it needed the V-22 to replace its Vietnam-era CH46C Knight helicopters. A prototype version of the plane crashed in July of 1992 while it was being demonstrated over water near the Quantico Marine Base in Virginia. Seven people were killed in that accident. But there've been no problems with the -- with it recently. This latest crash will again raise questions about whether the V- 22 is proven technology, but of course that will have to wait until the results of the investigation to determine whether this crash was caused by pilot error, mechanical malfunction, or perhaps a design flaw. Search CNN.com CNNSI.com CNNmoney.com The Web
Nineteen Marines Die After Plane Crashes in Arizona During Training Mission