Congress sought Osprey crash and safety documents from the Pentagon last year. It’s still waiting

WASHINGTON — A House Oversight Committee panel investigating the safety and oversight of the V-22 Osprey aircraft after a series of fatal accidents has not received critical data or accident reports that its members requested months ago, two commission staffers told The Associated Press.

The plane, the subject of a hearing Wednesday, has suffered from decades of safety, maintenance and reliability problems, with 62 military and civilian deaths in 12 Osprey accidents since 1992. The most recent was a crash off the coast of Japan in November that killed eight people died. American soldiers and led the army to ground the entire fleet. The plane, which can fly long distances quickly like an airplane but land like a helicopter, was returned to service in March with flight restrictions.

Among the information requested by the House Oversight Committee’s Subcommittee on National Security, Border and Foreign Affairs, but which has yet to be received, are Osprey’s wear and replacement rates proprotor gearboxesa component that was a factor in the 2023 crash near Japan.

Members of the committee also asked for internal crash reports that the military is conducting with surviving air and ground crews and witnesses. The reports, known as safety investigation board reports, are not available to the public and cannot be used to discipline a crew. They are intended to identify and quickly share any safety issues among the fleet.

So far, staffers said they had received about 3,500 pages of documents, but the information was redacted, leaving them unable to monitor. The committee staffers spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

The staffers said the documents they reviewed raised concerns about whether Pentagon leadership kept a close eye on the Osprey program. Some problems with the aircraft date back a decade or more but are still unresolved.

After mechanical and equipment failures led to an Osprey crash in California in 2022 that killed five Marines, the Army said it had made changes to prevent the problem from recurring.

“However, the recent fatal crash and ongoing investigation suggest that more transparency and rigorous testing are needed to verify these claims,” U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman, a Wisconsin Republican who chairs the committee, said in a statement ahead of the hearing to the AP. Wednesday.

Testifying before lawmakers will be Vice Admiral Carl Chebi, head of the US Naval Air Systems Command, which is responsible for the military-wide Osprey program.

The committee is concerned about how the Pentagon will be able to support the Osprey program in the long term. Parts are wearing out faster than expected, but recent Pentagon operations and maintenance budget requests for the plane have been reduced, Grothman said.

The Marine Corps plans to use the Osprey until 2050, while the Air Force Special Operations Command has already started talking publicly about finding another type of aircraft to fly missions.

Osprey producers Bell Flight, Boeing Co. and Rolls-Royce, which supplies the engines, are confronted a new lawsuit from families of the five Marines killed in the 2022 California crash. The lawsuit alleges the companies failed to address known component defects or safety issues that were a factor in the crash.

Boeing and Bell declined to comment, citing ongoing litigation.

The most recent crash in Japan last year was the fourth in two years, killing a total of 20 soldiers. The Air Force quickly identified it as a material problem with the plane was responsible for last year’s crash, and within a week the entire Osprey fleet – hundreds of Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force planes – was grounded.

The staffers said the Pentagon has not provided details on what the restrictions will be once the plane returns to service.

The V-22 Osprey is loved by pilots for its speed and ability to land on target like a helicopter. In addition to the fatal crashes, there were other accidents that destroyed the plane and injured soldiers, but all survived.