Three people missing after Marine Corps aircraft crash near Australia

Three people are missing after the Marine Corps aircraft they were aboard went down off the east coast of Australia Saturday.

The MV-22 Osprey was conducting operations from an amphibious assault ship - a large aircraft carrier-type vessel designed for launching helicopters - when the Osprey went into the water, the Marine Corps said in a statement. The incident is under investigation and it is unclear why the Osprey crashed, though landing and taking off from ships at sea is often difficult and inherently fraught with danger.

Twenty-three of the 26 personnel aboard the Ospery were recovered by the nearby ship's small boats, and search and rescue efforts are still underway, the statement said. The aircraft was assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 265 and operating with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, or MEU.

The MV-22 is a hybrid-type aircraft that can take off and land as a helicopter but transition its two engines to fly like an airplane in midflight. The aircraft had a turbulent development history and was involved in multiple fatal crashes.

The 31st MEU - based out of Okinawa, Japan - is composed of roughly 2,200 Marines and U.S. Navy sailors. Operating from a collection of ships, the unit acts as a standby force that is almost constantly deployed in the Pacific. Late last month, parts of the MEU were training in Queensland, Australia.

The crash is just the latest mishap for Marine Corps aircraft. Last month, a cargo plane carrying 15 Marines and one sailor crashed in western Mississippi, killing all aboard. The incident was one of the deadliest military aviation accidents in decades and it still remains unclear what brought the aircraft down.