An Osprey aircraft ferrying White House staff was urgently grounded in New York after flames were seen under the right engine. The staff on board, accompanying President Joe Biden to a "Friendsgiving" event with the U.S. Coast Guard in Staten Island were swiftly transferred to another aircraft without injury. The incident, reported by CBS News, coincided with the day lawmakers called for grounding the Osprey fleet due to ongoing safety concerns.

On the same day, Senators Elizabeth Warren, Ed Markey, and Representative Richard Neal sent a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, urging a permanent grounding of the V-22 Osprey fleet until its design issues are addressed. The letter followed an investigation by The Associated Press, which revealed a troubling history of fatalities and over twenty-one major accidents linked to the aircraft's design.

Despite ongoing concerns, the grounded V-22 Osprey fleet returned to service earlier this year with restrictions after a deadly crash in Japan killed eight service members. The U.S. Air Force cited equipment failure and pilot error as factors in the November 2023 crash, prompting the conditional return of the aircraft, as per the Independent report.

The Osprey's unique design, which lets it function as both a helicopter and airplane, has been criticized for pushing pilots to the edge of its capabilities to ensure safety, according to lawmakers in their letter to Austin, shared by CBS News. Pentagon-imposed restrictions on the fleet are expected to remain until at least mid-2025, signaling that resolving the aircraft's issues is a lengthy process.

Concerns grew earlier this month when Japan grounded its Osprey fleet after an incident in which the aircraft became unstable during takeoff. The Independent reports this highlights the V-22's ongoing reliability and safety issues, continuing the debate within military and government circles.