After six days of suspended flights due to a crash the Marine Corps are back in business flying the MV-22 Ospreys.

Monday Marine Corps commanders issued the order to resume flight operations in Japan. The MV-22 had been grounded after a crash in shallow waters on December 13th that injured two crew members. The crash occurred when the aircraft’s rotor contacted a refueling line during flight causing damage.

“After a thorough and careful review of our safety procedures, checklists, and aircraft, I am highly confident that we can continue safe flight operations of the MV-22 in support of our Alliance partner and obligations,” Lt. Gen Lawrence D. Nicholson, the commanding general of III Marine Expeditionary Force, said in a Marine Corps statement released Monday.

“It is very important for Japanese citizens to understand and share our utmost confidence in the safety and reliability of the MV-22, or we would not continue flight operations,” Nicholson said in the statement.

“It is equally important that we ensure our pilots have every opportunity to conduct training, which allows us to remain proficient, and enable us to respond when most needed in support of the Alliance.” – Marine Corps Times

The Osprey crash was the most recent in a string of Marine Corps aviation accidents.

Featured Image by U.S. Navy, via Wikimedia Commons