The Pentagon was aware of mechanical flaws in one of its Osprey aircraft nearly a decade before it crashed, Military.com reported on Thursday.

The Air Force’s Osprey program — a fleet of aircraft that can take off like a helicopter vertically and fly like a plane horizontally using tiltrotor propellors— has long been troubled with technical and safety issues, sometimes resulting in fatal accidents. An Osprey aircraft, call sign Gundam 22, suffered a mechanical failure during flight operations and crashed off the coast of Japan in November, killing eight airmen and prompting an investigation, the findings of which were released this month. (RELATED: ‘They’ll Try To Get Up Again’: US Rushes To Contain Resurgence Of Islamic State In Syria)

But the problems with the Gundam 22 Osprey had been identified in a separate internal Air Force safety investigation in 2013, according to internal documents obtained by Military.com. Specifically, the investigation had found that the Osprey’s gearbox was faulty — this would go on to be the reason it crashed in 2023, as the gearbox was tripped apart and caused the left propeller to stop operating.

The Air Force brought its findings to the Pentagon in 2014, according to Military.com. But the Pentagon did not fully conclude that the risks outlined in the investigation would be acceptable or managed.

The separate public investigation that was released in August laid some blame on the Pentagon.

“Inadequate action at the program level and inadequate coordination between the program office and the services prevented comprehensive awareness,” the investigation found. This failure “substantially contributed to the mishap.”

The current Osprey program has become somewhat infamous for its technical problems and safety concerns, even as the aircraft’s construction has evolved over time. Most of the aircraft’s problems have stemmed from its rotating propeller system, which involves a complex structure of gears and mechanisms.

There have been more than 40 accidents involving the Osprey aircraft since 2007, according to Axios. More than 30 people have died in those accidents; 20 of those deaths occurred in the last two years.

The Osprey crash in November prompted the Pentagon to ground its entire Osprey fleet the following month. The flight ban was lifted in March.

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