Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey Tiltrotor Aircraft PhotosThe Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey is intended to be the first operational tiltrotor aircraft. It is shaped like the smaller V-15, with the rotation of the engine pods set at the wingtips. The fuselage is a box. The wing above the fuselage, and can be rotated to be parallel to the fuselage for storage. The tiltrotor aircraft takes off and lands like a helicopter.
Once airborne, its engine nacelles can be rotated to convert the aircraft to a turboprop airplane capable of high speed, high altitude flight. The Air Force received the first CV-22 Osprey in November 2006. On April 8, 2010, CV-22 crashed in southeastern Afghanistan, about 11 km west of the city of Qalat, during a night mission. Four people were killed, many injured in this accident. There have been numerous security incidents with the V-22 in recent years, but this was the first fatal accident since December 2000.
