US Marine Corps Osprey crash investigation finds major flaws

A US Marine Corps Osprey aircraft crash that killed three soldiers, with another 20 surviving, was the result of a near-collision in mid-air and pilot error, a military investigation published on Friday found. 

The Osprey that crashed last August on maneuvers in Australia took emergency evasive action to try to avoid a collision with another Osprey, ultimately leading to it stalling and crashing. The leading craft had slowed without informing the one behind, leading to the steep banks to avoid a collision.

Two Marines were killed in the cockpit, and a third, the crew chief, died returning to the burning cockpit to try to save them.

Their loss "continues to be felt across the Marine Corps," the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force said in a statement on Friday.

The remaining soldiers in the back of the Osprey, a versatile but complicated transport that can fly as a plane or as a helicopter and is capable of vertical take-offs and landings, survived the crash.

Disregard for flight safety procedures, checks

But the damning investigation into the incident, one of four similar fatal crashes involving the MV-22 B Osprey in the last year, found far wider fault with the squadron's pilots and ground staff alike. 

It said that the squadron leadership had permitted "a culture that disregarded safety of flight" and recommended punitive actions, including potential court martial charges for one senior squadron member.

It said a senior maintenance officer had falsely generated and signed a form detailing the aircraft's weight and load after the crash, a violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. This should have been reviewed by the aircraft commander prior to the flight. 

Investigators found both Ospreys had taken on 2,000 pounds (around 900 kilos) more fuel than they had planned for and had only used estimates on how much each of the 19 troops in the back would weigh.

This missing data about the weight of the fuel and passengers on board, and therefore about how the aircraft would respond to certain abrupt maneuvers, made it more difficult for pilots to react appropriately during the emergency.

The report also said that given the seriousness of the safety violations identified, it recommended that all Marine Corps Osprey squadrons schedule a temporary pause in flight operations, known as a standdown, to review the accident. 

Versatile Osprey under review 

The August 2023 crash was one of four in just over a year that drew congressional scrutiny on the V-22 Osprey aircraft, a versatile and often used asset for special operations and combat missions but also considered a difficult and dangerous aircraft to fly and maintain. 

Eight were killed in Japan in November 2023 and five more when an Osprey crashed into the Mediterranean in the same month. Five more Marines died in July 2022 in California.

The aircraft is the subject of several reviews in the US about whether it remains a suitable fit for the military going forward. 

Pilots may have been overloaded, warning signs missed

The Hawaii-based squadron had been on a high pace of operations and investigators said it may have been overloaded. 

The report pointed to two lesser accidents in the three weeks before the crash — one of which was another near-miss tied to weight and load issues — as overlooked warning signs. 

That these two incidents did not prompt the former commanding officer to halt flights to look for larger safety issues "is gravely concerning and directly contributed to the failure to execute required safety of flight and weight and power procedures" on the date of the crash, the investigators said. 

They accused this officer of failing to attend mission planning briefs or review the aircraft's load or maintenance history before taking off, leaving him with a lack of awareness for the flight. 

Maintenance checks for the aircraft were also incomplete, the report found, though this is not believed to have played a part in the accident. 

msh/sms (AP, AFP, Reuters)