Osprey pilots face possible disciplinary action for deadly crash in Morocco

A recently completed Marine Corps review of the incident, which ended in the deaths of Cpls. Robby Reyes and Derek Kerns, found the crash was not due to any “mechanical or materiel failure” aboard the Osprey, Deputy Commandant for Marine Corps Aviation Lt. Gen. Robert Schmidle said Friday. 

{mosads}The military investigation, known as a “JAG Manual”, found that an “extremely complex set of circumstances” led to the loss of control and subsequent crash of the Osprey during a joint U.S-Moroccan military training mission in April, Schmidle told reporters at the Pentagon. 

With the JAG Manual investigation now complete, the pilots involved in the accident will go before a “field flight performance board” that will evaluate their actions leading up to the incident, Schmidle said. 

The review board will convene at Marine Corps Air Station New River once the pilots have fully recovered from their injuries suffered during the April crash. 

The three-star general said the pilots could face either temporary or permanent loss of flight status, pending the board’s review of their performance. The names of the pilots involved in the crash were redacted in the investigation report released on Friday. 

However, whatever action the performance board may take against the pilots, including suspension of flight status, would not be intended to punish the Marines for their actions, one service official told The Hill after Friday’s briefing. 

The board’s actions would be “administrative and not punitive” the official said, noting that if the pilot’s flight statuses were revoked, they would likely go through retraining and put “back on the path to get back into the cockpit.” 

The Osprey tiltrotor aircraft, which is designed to take off and land like helicopter but fly like a fixed-wing aircraft, crashed shortly after takeoff in the Tan Tan province in southern Morocco. 

The crash was caused by severe tailwinds, blowing upwards of 15 to 20 knots, that ended up blowing the Osprey off track and nose-first into the ground, Schmidle explained. 

Reyes and Kerns were killed in the accident, and another two Marines were taken to a military medical facility in Guelmim Province, about 450 miles south of Rabat. 

Despite the accident and follow-up investigation, service leaders opted not to suspend Osprey flight operations at the time.