New York - A U.S. Marine Corps aircraft's powerful propellers whipped up a wind that sent branches hurling off a tree and into a crowd of about 150 people watching a Memorial Day demonstration in a park, leaving 10 people with cuts and other minor injuries, officials and a witness said.

As the Osprey MV-22 aircraft landed at Staten Island's Clove Lakes Park on Monday morning, the wind generated by its twin rotors stirred tree limbs, dirt from a nearby baseball field and other debris into a swirl that sent spectators scattering, witness Ann Hirsch said.

"It was like a storm of sand and garbage and people running," said Hirsch, 66, of Staten Island. "Branches just came down. They were all over the park. ... It was really scary."

One tree lost all its branches on one side.

The MV-22 is a Marine Corps version of the V-22, which combines airplane-like wings with rotors that let it take off and land vertically.

Seven people were taken to a hospital and were released later Monday, Navy officials said in a release. Three other people refused medical attention for their injuries, firefighters said.

Monday's demonstration was part of Fleet Week, an annual military showcase in New York.