A V-22 Osprey lifts off from the desert during the Kirtland Air and Space Fiesta in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the United States, on May 18, 2019.(Xinhua/Richard Lakin)
Cold Response, dubbed the largest Norwegian-led military exercise since the Cold War, involves 30,000 military personnel, 220 aircraft, and over 50 vessels from NATO countries.
COPENHAGEN, March 18 (Xinhua) -- A U.S. plane with four crews taking part in a NATO exercise crashed in northern Norway on Friday, confirmed Hovedredningssentral (HRS), or the Joint rescue coordination center, in Northern Norway.
The Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey, a twin-engine vertical take-off military aircraft, was on a training mission when it went missing shortly after failing to arrive at its planned destination of Bodo.
According to Jan Eskild Severinsen, press officer at the HRS, debris was discovered at 21:17 near Gratadalen, a valley south of Bodo known for its numerous caves.
Soldiers take part in the Trident Juncture 2018 exercise at a waterfront site near Trondheim, Norway, Oct. 30, 2018. (Xinhua/Liang Youchang)
Ground crews have since been dispatched and are still to arrive at the crash site, but no indications of life have been observed in the area around the wreck from the air.
The plane was taking part in the combined land, sea and air NATO exercise dubbed Cold Response, scheduled for March 10 to April 10.
Cold Response, dubbed the largest Norwegian-led military exercise since the Cold War, involves 30,000 military personnel, 220 aircraft, and over 50 vessels from NATO countries. ■
