V-22 Osprey to be examined in subcommittee hearing, manufacturers sued

US officials are accusing the Pentagon of “recalcitrance” following attempts to obtain documents concerning the controversial aircraft. Meanwhile in the Top End, the tilt-rotors continue to fly.

V-22 Ospreys part of Marine Rotation Force - Darwin, 2024. Picture: MRF-D.

The US Department of Defence has been accused of defying a subcommittee’s request to access classified documents concerning the safety of the V-22 Osprey program – before a hearing this week to assess the aircraft’s troubled history.

And while the tilt-rotor’s safety has been called into question overseas, Marine Rotation Force – Darwin continue to fly the Osprey in the Top End’s skies.

The Australian Defence Force (ADF) have remained cagey on the issue and have failed to confirm whether ADF troops would be permitted to board the aircraft.

The accusation comes after the subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs announced it would explore the controversial aircraft’s extensive history of deadly crashes in a hearing this week.

Subcommittee Chairman Glenn Grothman blasted the “unacceptable” number of US service members killed on board the tilt-rotor and accused the Pentagon of not complying with the requests of elected officials.

“The Committee has requested numerous documents and information from the Department, but has been met with recalcitrance,” he said.

“We hope to hold the department accountable out of respect for every family that has lost a loved one in an Osprey crash.”

The Pentagon (home of the Department of Defence) has been accused of being “recalcitrance” after requests for documents concerning the V-22 Osprey was made. Picture: Supplied.

It is expected the most recent Osprey crashes will be examined in detail, including the deadly crash at the Tiwi Islands in August 2023, in which three Marines were killed.

On August 27, 2023, Captain Eleanor LeBeau, Major Tobin Lewis and Corporal Spencer Collart were killed after their MV-22 Osprey went down on the first day of Exercise Predators Run.

In November 2023, another deadly crash in Japan killed eight Marines, which led to the Pentagon ordering a global freeze on the airframe to ensure a safety review into the Osprey could be completed.

After three months of examinations, the Osprey was declared suitable for aircrews to fly and the ban was lifted.

The lifting of the Osprey’s global grounding was quickly followed by a federal lawsuit. Picture: MRF-D.

However, the Osprey continued to make headlines when in May law firm Wisner Baum filed a lawsuit against the Osprey’s manufacturers on behalf of a group of servicemen who died in an Osprey crash which occurred in June 2022.

The complainant has accused companies Bell Textron, The Boeing Co., Rolls Royce Corp, and Roll Royce North America of negligence, negligent misrepresentation, and fraudulent misrepresentation for failing to make “truthful statements to the government and to service members about the design, operation, and safety of the V-22 Osprey aircraft”.

Timothy Loranger is a former Marine and pilot who is representing the victims of a deadly V-22 Osprey crash that occurred in June 2022. Picture: Wisner Baum.

On Tuesday, the plaintiffs’ lawyer and former Marine, Timothy Loranger, confirmed loved ones of Captain John Sax and Lance Corporal Evan Strickland – who perished in the deadly crash – would attend this week’s hearing.

“We are pleased that Congress and members of this committee are focusing much needed attention on the safety of our service members who fly and rely upon the V-22 Osprey,” said Mr Loranger.

“We’re hopeful that this hearing will lead to a call for increased transparency from the manufacturers about historical issues and current efforts to identify and eliminate the root cause of recent mishaps - Osprey crews and their families deserve assurances that their beloved aircraft are safe and airworthy.”