Story highlights Two Marines were killed in the crash of an MV-22 Osprey on Oahu

Marines say the MV-22 has the service's lowest rate of bad rotorcraft accidents

Deadly accidents plagued the first years of the Osprey, which is used by the Marines and Air Force

(CNN) When a Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey crashed in Hawaii last weekend, leaving two Marines dead, memories of the troubled past of the tilt-rotor aircraft came to the minds of many.

The cause of the crash during training at Bellows Air Force Station on Oahu is under investigation. Video showed the Osprey, part helicopter and part airplane, descending and thick smoke and a fire erupting from what the Marine Corps called "a hard landing mishap."

A Marine Corps spokesman told CNN the Hawaii crash doesn't shake the service's faith in the aircraft.

"Factually, the MV-22 is safe," said Capt. Eric Flanagan of Marine Corps Public Affairs. "The MV-22 had the lowest Class A flight mishap rate of all Marine rotorcraft through the first 200,000 flight hours." (A Class A flight mishap is one that results in loss of life or more than $2 million in damage to equipment. An Osprey costs about $70 million.)

Photos: Photos: Air Force CV-22 Ospreys take off from Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, for a training mission. The Osprey is a tilt-rotor aircraft that combines the vertical takeoff, hover and landing qualities of a helicopter with the normal flight characteristics of a turboprop aircraft. Click through to see Ospreys in action. Hide Caption 1 of 11 Photos: A CV-22 Osprey, flown by the Air Force's 8th Special Operations Squadron, hangs in an anechoic chamber at the Joint Preflight Integration of Munitions and Electronic Systems hangar at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, in 2012. Hide Caption 2 of 11 Photos: An MV-22 Osprey from Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 262 soars over the Pacific Ocean during a flight from the Philippines to Australia in 2014. Marines and aircraft from VMM-262, VMM-265 and Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 152 flew approximately 4,700 miles from Okinawa, Japan, to Brisbane, Australia, to provide aerial support for President Barack Obama and Marine Helicopter Squadron One during the G20 Summit. When paired with the KC-130J tanker, the Osprey can provide assault support anywhere in the 105 million square miles that make up the Marine Forces Pacific area of responsibility. Hide Caption 3 of 11 Photos: A CV-22B Osprey receives fuel from an MC-130H Combat Talon II on June 21, 2013, off the coast of Greenland. Hide Caption 4 of 11 Photos: Sailors assigned to the aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) and Marines assigned to the 3d Marine Expeditionary Brigade load boxes of supplies into a U.S. Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey from Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 262 to be airlifted to nearby villages during relief efforts after Supertyphoon Haiyan. Hide Caption 5 of 11 Photos: Sailors aboard the amphibious transport dock ship USS Mesa Verde (LPD 19) stow an MV-22 Osprey in the hangar bay. Hide Caption 6 of 11 Photos: A Marine MV-22 Osprey makes contact with a KC-10 Extender tanker's drogue from Travis Air Force Base off the coast of San Francisco at 10,000 feet in October 2014. Hide Caption 7 of 11 Photos: An MV-22B Osprey, assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 365 (Reinforced), 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, hovers over the flight deck of the amphibious transport dock USS New York, at sea, in January 2015. Hide Caption 8 of 11 Photos: U.S. Marines with Special-Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force Crisis Response-Africa board an MV-22 Osprey during an alert force drill at Moron Air Base, Spain, on March 13, 2015. The alert force tested its capabilities by simulating a reaction to a real-time crisis response mission by flying to Sigonella, Italy, on a moment's notice. Hide Caption 9 of 11 Photos: Sailors and Marines prepare to launch MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 262 (Reinforced) from the flight deck of the amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6). Hide Caption 10 of 11 Photos: Combat controllers from the 21st Special Tactics Squadron fast-rope from a CV-22 Osprey during Emerald Warrior near Hurlburt Field, Florida, on April 21, 2015. Emerald Warrior is the Department of Defense's only irregular warfare exercise, allowing joint and combined partners to train together and prepare for real-world contingency operations. Hide Caption 11 of 11

"Thanks to its speed, maneuverability, and numerous capabilities, the MV-22 is in high demand among commanders worldwide, and has already surpassed 223,000 flight hours conducting many types of missions," Flanagan said.

Read More