. 24/7 Space News .
AEROSPACE
Lawsuit seeks records regarding 2000 V-22 Osprey crash
by James Laporta
Washington (UPI) Oct 20, 2017


After a 14-year battle to vindicate two U.S. Marine Corps aviators who were killed and subsequently blamed for crashing of a MV-22 Osprey claimed the lives of 17 other Marines, a Republican Congressman wants information as to why the pilots were incorrectly faulted for the crash itself.

During a joint press conference in Washington, D.C., Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., along with Trisha Brow and Connie Bruber, the wives of U.S. Marine pilots Lt. Col. John A. Brow and Maj. Brooks S. Gruber, announced a rare filing of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit seeking all records pertaining to the 2000 MV-22 Osprey crash in Marana, Arizona.

"I have been fighting this for 15 years, I've been praying about this issue, asking God to please show me the light to bring peace to John Brow and Brooks Gruber," Jones told UPI. "Dead men can't talk and they have been falsely blamed for something... and the truth needed to come out."

The FOIA lawsuit seeks the release of all documents that may explain why the two Marine pilots were held accountable and ultimately blamed for the tragic crash. In May 2016, the Pentagon admitted to incorrectly blaming the pilots for the April 2000 crash after reviewing the investigation into the revolutionary Marine aircraft.

The Defense Department last year released a six-page letter by Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work, who reviewed all previous investigations and official reports surrounding the 2000 crash. Work concluded that U.S. Marine pilots Brow and Gruber were wrongly accused by the Pentagon for years as being the primary cause or "fatal factor" during the April 8, 2000, Osprey crash that led to the catastrophic events in Marana, Ariz.

"Human factors undoubtedly contributed to the Marana accident," Work said in his six page letter, "However, it is clear that there were deficiencies in the V-22's development and engineering and safety programs that were corrected only after the crash -- and these deficiencies likely contributed to the accident and its fatal outcome. I therefore conclude it is impossible to point to a single 'fatal factor' that caused this crash."

Former Judge Advocate Marine Lt. Col. James W. Weirick, who serves as a special military legal advisor to Jones, told UPI that "from the outset, Marine Corps aviation sought to place all of the blame for the crash on the pilots, in order to save the Osprey program."

The effort to clear the Marines' names has not come easy, starting in 2002 after Jones met with Gruber's wife, a resident of Jones' district, which also houses Marine Corps base Camp Lejeune and Marine Corps Air Station New River. Over the years, the issue was met with continued stonewalling and denials from senior Marine Corps leadership to take up the issue, according to Jones.

Jones claims that former Marine Commandant Generals James L. Jones, Michael W. Hagee, James T. Conway and James F. Amos had no interest in reviewing the case, welcoming undo embarrassment on the Marine Corps.

"They never wanted to help clear the names of these two Marine pilots, so meeting Secretary Work was the key to righting this wrong... he wanted to give the benefit of the doubt to these dead pilots that the Marine Corps, for years never wanted to give," Jones said.

The 14-year battle and subsequent vindication of the Marine aviators stems from a fatal crash that occurred when Brow and Gruber were attempting to land their Osprey at a small regional airport in Marana during a nighttime training exercise designed to simulate combat operations.

The Osprey crash was attributed to multiple interrelated factors, according to an investigation conducted after the incident. Investigators cited the rapid drop in altitude, the pilots' air speed in preparation for landing, and asymmetric vortex ring state, or VRS, a dangerous flight condition that occurs during helicopter flights that can ultimately disrupt a safe landing. VRS is what caused the top secret Blackhawk used by SEAL Team Six members during the 2011 raid that killed Osama bin Laden to crash land.

Additionally, the hybrid technology that allowed the Osprey to seamlessly transition from helicopter to airplane simply by tilting its rotors forward was still in its infancy, despite being conceptualized in the 1980s.

At the time of the crash, the Osprey, manufactured by Bell Boeing, already had a history of controversy that is comparable to today's dispute over the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

The Osprey was years behind its production schedule and well over its original budget, placing added pressures on senior Marine Corps leadership to make substantial progress in the Osprey's development and implementation process or risk Congressional budgetary cuts.

However, in the wake of the official investigation, Marine officials, including former Commandant Gen. James L. Jones, ignored the external factors that contributed to the Osprey crash and instead told the media that "human errors" were the leading cause of the aerial disaster.

In 2016, Work said he hoped clearing the Marine aviators provides some level of peace to the families, writing, "I hope this letter will provide the widows of Lieutenant Colonel Brow and Major Gruber some solace after all of these years in which the blame for the Marana accident was incorrectly interpreted or understood to be primarily attributed to their husbands."

AEROSPACE
Navy T-45 crash renews concerns about the trainer aircraft
Washington (UPI) Oct 5, 2017
As the names of two dead U.S. Navy pilots are released following the Sunday crash of a military training jet in a remote area of Tennessee, lawmakers and military commanders face troubling questions. Lt. Patrick L. Ruth, 31, of Metairie, La., and Lt. j.g. Wallace E. Burch, 25, of Horn Lake, Miss., died when their T-45C Goshawk, a military jet-training aircraft manufactured by Boeing sin ... read more

Related Links
Aerospace News at SpaceMart.com


Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly


paypal only
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal


Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

AEROSPACE
Roscosmos: International Space Exploration to Continue Despite Geopolitical Situation

US spacewalkers install 'new eyes' at space station

NASA May Extend BEAM's Time on the International Space Station

USNO Astronomers Measure New Distances To Nearby Stars

AEROSPACE
ESA role in Europe's first all-electric telecom satellite

Lockheed Martin Launches Second Cycle of 'Girls' Rocketry Challenge' in Japan

Rocket motor for Ariane 6 and Vega-C is cast for testing

RS-25 Engines Ready for Maiden Flight of NASA's Space Launch System

AEROSPACE
Russian Space Research Institute Announces July 2020 Date for Mission to Mars

ASU examines Mars' moon Phobos in a different light

Mars Study Yields Clues to Possible Cradle of Life

Another Chance to Put Your Name on Mars

AEROSPACE
China launches three satellites

Mars probe to carry 13 types of payload on 2020 mission

UN official commends China's role in space cooperation

China's cargo spacecraft separates from Tiangong-2 space lab

AEROSPACE
Eutelsat's Airbus-built full electric EUTELSAT 172B satellite reaches geostationary orbit

Turkey, Russia to Enhance Cooperation in the Field of Space Technologies

SpaceX launches 10 satellites for Iridium mobile network

Lockheed Martin Completes First Flexible Solar Array for LM 2100 Satellite

AEROSPACE
Understanding rare earth emulsions

Dutch open 'world's first 3D-printed bridge'

Chemical treatment improves quantum dot lasers

Missing link between new topological phases of matter discovered

AEROSPACE
Are Self-Replicating Starships Practical

New telescope attachment allows ground-based observations of new worlds

Biomarker Found In Space Complicates Search For Life On Exoplanets

The Super-Earth that Came Home for Dinner

AEROSPACE
Ring around a dwarf planet detected

Helicopter test for Jupiter icy moons radar

Solving the Mystery of Pluto's Giant Blades of Ice

Global Aerospace Corporation to present Pluto lander concept to NASA









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.