V-22 Osprey Crash - April 8, 2000

[Ooh-Rah]

Long article, much to digest. I need to re-read and try to decipher the Marine Corps bullshit-speak, vs. politician's and family's desires to clear the pilots.

Very interested in insight and opinions-

The long, lonely battle to vindicate two dishonored military pioneers

Darkness engulfed the Arizona desert as the first of two aircraft closed in on the landing zone. The mission, part of the Marine Corps' controversial evaluation of the V-22 Osprey, called for a simulated communication blackout.

Lt. Col. Jim Schafer, who was co-piloting one of two other Ospreys that were trailing the first pair, sensed a problem as he watched their descent. "These guys are too high," he said aloud. His decision to maintain radio silence has haunted him for the last 16 years.

It was April 8, 2000, and seconds later, that Osprey lost lift, flipped and plummeted to the ground. All 19 Marines were killed, marking one of the deadliest test flights in U.S. military history. The second Osprey encountered its own trouble, slamming to the ground and skidding 100 yards before coming to a stop. Miraculously, no one in that aircraft was seriously hurt. The Marine Corps would blame the pilots, Lt. Col. John Brow and Maj. Brooks Gruber, for causing the deadly crash, refusing to back down from that conclusion even after a formal investigation cleared Brow and Gruber of wrongdoing.

 

[Red Flag 1]

I'd like to see the official mishap report for starters. I'll see if I can't chase it down.

 

[Devildoc]

There have been a couple articles locally over the years about that event given their ties to New River. I love the Navy and the Corps, but that who thing smelled like a cover up.

 

[Red Flag 1]

The mishap took place early in the life of a new aircraft, a most unique one at that. There are always mishaps early on. The F-111's had a horrible start in SEA, and they were cutting edge as a swing wing Mach 3 bird. The entire life span of one of the neatest ever medium range bombers, the B-58 Hustler was really a widow maker. As an aside, John Denver's Dad was a B-58 driver. John was also a pilot who met his death in an experimental aircraft over California. In some ways, you have to step back and look at the total picture how each new aircraft stacks up against all other new aircraft. There are always mishaps, even after being wrung out by the boys at Edwards AFB.

Blame, early on with new aircraft, really has three elements in play; one of them is pilot training for the new aircraft. I've not had any luck with the actual mishap report. That report may stay under wraps for a while yet. I do have some out brief material. Sometimes it is hard to know where to put your focus. It is unfortunate that blame is often misplaced, for reasons that can stay hidden.

 

[Gunz]

The AV8 had some fatal teething problems too, and I suspect both it and the V22 were tricky to learn, especially transitioning from forward to vertical and the opposite.

I remember the Osprey crashes and the controversies. IIRC a senior officer at New River got sacked for falsifying maintenance records to make the AC appear more reliable. This was also around the time of the Arizona crash.

 

[Johca]

The article make blue hat (commitment to Navy OT&E) duties and responsibilities vs green hat (marine operational conformity) argument. Plus the suggestion of "Lt. Col. Jim Schafer, who was co-piloting one of two other Ospreys that were trailing the first pair, sensed a problem as he watched their descent. "These guys are too high," he said aloud. His decision to maintain radio silence has haunted him for the last 16 years" depends on the flight error not being beyond the point of being corrected.