U.S. Marines not halting flights after Nepal, Hawaii accidents

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Marine Corps is not halting flights of UH-1 helicopters or V-22 tilt-rotor Ospreys despite recent deadly accidents in Nepal and Hawaii, the general in charge of Marine Corps aviation said on Tuesday. Lieutenant General Jon Davis, deputy commandant for aviation, said both incidents were still being investigated, but initial reviews did not point to any concerns about the safety or reliability of the aircraft. Six U.S. Marines and two Nepali soldiers were killed last week when their UH-1 helicopter crashed during an earthquake relief mission. On Sunday, one U.S. Marine was killed and 12 others were hospitalized after their MV-22 Osprey made a "hard landing" during a training exercise in Hawaii. "I have not seen anything, and I looked, that would cause me pause on the reliability or safety of the airplanes," Davis said. He said the Marine Corps may modify its training protocols after a more thorough review of the incidents. Bell Helicopter, a unit of Textron Inc, built the UH-1 Y-model helicopter that crashed in Nepal. It is an upgraded version of the earlier UH-1 "Huey." The MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor, which takes off and lands like a helicopter but flies like a plane, is built by a joint venture of Boeing Co and Bell Helicopter. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Paul Simao)