US Marines ground all aircraft for 24 hours

The US Marine Corps on Friday announced a 24-hour operational pause for all of its aircraft after two major deadly crashes in recent weeks.

"Gen. Robert B. Neller, Commandant of the US Marine Corps, directed US Marine Corps aviation units to conduct an operational reset for a 24 hour-period where no flight operations will take place but no operational commitments will be impacted," Xinhua quoted a statement from Marine Corps as saying.

"Pauses in operations are not uncommon and are viewed as a responsible step to refresh and review best practices and procedures so our units remain capable, safe, and ready," the statement added. The halt will affect all Marine Corps aircrafts, including those with tilt-rotors, helicopters and fixed-wing planes.

However, each unit commander can carry out the pause at his or her discretion within a two-week period, meaning those currently performing combat missions can continue operating and come up with a plan to ensure these missions are not affected by the pause.

Last week an MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft crashed while operating off the coast of Australia, killing three of the 26 Marines on board. In July, a KC-130T transport plane crashed in the southern state of Mississippi, resulting in the death of 15 Marines and a Navy corpsman.