Tonight defense officials are zeroing in on the cause of the most recent deadly Osprey crash adding to the likelihood that the aircraft could be back in the air within weeks but Wayland and Michelle Strickland the parents of Lance corporal Evan Strickland worry this is too soon he was just 13 years old when he saw his first Osprey he was hooked.
That was his first time ever seeing like an osprey up close um he was in he was fascinated by he was yeah he was just over the moon about him almost like a Transformer the Osprey can take off as a helicopter but then turn into an airplane getting troops to the battlefield quickly I got a picture of him where he was sitting in the cockpit.
That was actually just in front of the position where he was when he passed Evan joined the military working on Osprey Cruise in June 20122 he was on an osprey over California when investigators say it experienced what's called A Hard clutch engagement when the clutch releases and suddenly re-engages so at that point they lost control.
Flight and it the and the aircraft fell just like a rock I say just a rock no one survived the crash it was evans's first Osprey flight as a crew chief he was 19 years old after the crash the military said they were 99% sure they had fixed the problem there have been no clutch failures since January 2023 but they still can't say for sure why it.
Happened in the first place you can't fix something if you don't know truly what's causing it and so that's the worry and the concern we just want it fixed Evans casket was escorted by a marine honor guard that included one of his best friends Corporal Spencer CER I had received a text um saying there had been an an map in Australia just 14.
Months after he was there at Evans Funeral CER was killed when the Osprey he was in also crashed in Australia I'm like no no no you know your heart just sinks and I remember shaken kind of showing you the phone like no this can't be and it happened again in November in Japan eight more American Service members killed in another ospre CRI.
Crash the investigation in that crash focusing on an added concern the prop rotor gearbox that connects the engines to the rotors in the last two years four crashes have taken the lives of 20 service members and Military data shows the number of serious Aviation incidents known as Class A mishaps are on the rise for the Osprey in the last two years.
There were 11 incidents compared to just two in the previous two years I don't know anyone that doesn't know somebody that's passed away in an osprey crash this former milit AR aviation mechanic worked on the Osprey for decades he fears repercussions for speaking out we protected his identity including using another voice in place of his they need.
To be doing more to prevent this stuff and to be more transparent would you go up in an osprey today no he says they also felt pressure to get the aircraft back in the air quickly you're trying to reach these benchmarks that are really hard to get to so there's a lot of perceived pressure that ends up turning this into actual pressure in December.
The Pentagon took the rare step of grounding its entire fleet of Ospreys but NBC News has learned there are still Ospreys flying in jibuti and okanawa for operational necessity does the Pentagon think it's safe to put osr back up in the air before you determine what caused the crash I think um we'll leave it to the services to determine when it's best.
For those Ospreys uh to be relieved of that standown order but right now they're still not flying at this time the Pentagon sent us a statement saying in part the safety of our air Crews is of utmost importance and we recognize the critical role the v22 plays in our nation's defense and are dedicated to safeguarding the well-being of our.
Personnel meanwhile Wayland and Michelle Strickland say they'll keep demanding answers because that's what Evan would have wanted our son if he knew this was going to happen and that it would lead to some kind of change to protect his brothers and keep them safe he'd do it again we reached out to the Osprey manufacturer Bel Textron and they gave.
Us this statement quote our thoughts are with the those who were lost in these incidents along with their families friends and loved ones we are steadfast in our commitment to safety and are fully supporting the investigation Lester thanks for watching stay updated about breaking news and top stories on the NBC News app or follow us on social.
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A virus presumably
The program is nothing better than a money cow for defense contractors. Issues and accidents are lined up. The chain of repeat and these in the support of these contracts needs to be imprisoned for his or her negligence
dim hawk also rupture plenty too when it's first came out, Osprey is calm a brand novel plane