U. S MV-22 Osprey plane crashed into the sea

UNITED STATES MARINE OSPREY VMM-265               File Photo

The US military is searching for three missing marines after their Osprey aircraft carrying 26 personnel crashed off the central Queensland coast yesterday.
A search and rescue operation is under way off Queensland's coast for three marines who are still missing after a US military plane crashed into the sea.
The plane, an MV-22 Osprey, (also known as a tiltrotor) was carrying 26 personnel including crew when it crashed about 4pm on Saturday off the central Queensland coast at Shoalwater Bay.
It had taken off from the USS Bonhomme Richard and was on regularly scheduled operations when it hit the water in a "mishap", a statement from the US military says.
Small boats and aircraft from the Bonhomme Richard, an amphibious assault ship, immediately swung into action.
Twenty-three marines were rescued while three remain missing.
US President Donald Trump, who has just begun a 17-day "working vacation", at his New Jersey golf club, had been briefed on the incident by his new chief of staff John Kelly, a White House official told reporters.
Minister for Defence Marise Payne confirmed in a statement late on Saturday night that no Australian Defence Force personnel were on board the aircraft.
The search and rescue operation is being conducted by the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unite and Bonhomme Richard Expeditionary Strike Group, which are on deployment in the Indo-Asia Pacific region.
"The United States are leading the search and recovery effort," Senator Payne said.
She had also briefed Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and spoken with US Defence Secretary James Mattis to offer Australia's support.
"Our thoughts are with the crew and families affected," she said.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk offered her government's support to the search and rescue efforts.
"In recent weeks, many Queenslanders have had the opportunity to meet US servicemen and servicewoman visiting as they prepare for the joint military exercise Talisman Sabre in central Queensland.
"On behalf of all Queenslanders, our prayers are with those US military personnel involved in the incident," she said in a statement.
The Osprey aircraft, a tilt rotor aircraft that takes off and lands like a helicopter but flies like an aeroplane, was in Australia for Operation Talisman Sabre, a biennial training exercise involving the defence forces of both countries, at the Shoalwater Bay Training Area. The exercises concluded at the end of July.

In 2015, a US Osprey crashed during a training exercise in Hawaii, killing two Marines.
Last December, a US military Osprey crash-landed off Japan's southern island of Okinawa. Its five crew members were rescued safely.
And in January this year, three US soldiers were wounded in the "hard landing" of an Osprey in Yemen.