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News | March 3, 2020

Eglin staff puts fallen Osprey to rest

By Tim Hoyle DLA Disposition Services

Defense Logistics Agency employees at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, processed the wreckage from a 2012 aircraft mishap through a different disposal route than many other airframes.

An Air Force Special Operations Command release stated, a CV-22 Osprey, assigned to the 1st Special Operations Wing, Hurlburt Field, Florida, was flying in a two-ship formation when it crashed at approximately 6:45 p.m. during a routine training mission north of Navarre, Florida, on the Eglin Range. All five aircrew members sustained various degrees of injuries when the tilt-rotor aircraft crashed, but none of the injuries were reported as life-threatening.

The disposal for wreckage used to investigate the mishap was processed by the DLA Disposition Services staff at Eglin, whose field site is located close to Hurlburt Field. Airframes usually go through a demilitarization process involving cutting it into pieces. Tim Stark, DLA Disposition Services’ lead environmental protection specialist for the area, said that due to the hazardous materials in the Osprey, utilizing DLA’s hazardous waste contract was a better way to dispose of the burned aircraft.

“CV-22 coating has been tested and was shown to contain chromated primers,” Stark said.

Besides the chromium involved, Stark said the customer’s expertise also led the cadmium code to be applied to the waste, as it is typical of many engines and components from aircraft. Six containers of wreckage were picked up by the hazardous waste disposal contractor arranged by DLA Disposition Services so that all contents could be macroencapsulated within a one-piece structural unit, typically a concrete shell. The shell is both filled and sealed with a solid material before the unit is placed in a permitted landfill. 

Stark and another contracting officer representative, Kylee Turley, were on hand to oversee the loading of the containers onto the trucks. 

“We had previously put eyes on the contents during a visit in December,” Stark said.

DLA Disposition Services manages the disposal of hazardous property for Defense Department activities. Hazardous wastes are handled through a worldwide network of HW management and disposal contracts.  Please visit the Hazardous Waste page of the DLA Disposition Services website for more information on DLA Disposition Services’ role in handling hazardous wastes and materials.