Washington (December 22, 2023) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) - a member of the Senate Committee on Armed Services - and Chairman Richard E. Neal (MA-01), sent a letter to Department of Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III requesting the Department of Defense examine the safety of the V-22 Osprey aircraft and its operation in the Air Force, Marine, Corps, and Navy. In their letter, the lawmakers highlight the alarming trend of three decades of numerous accidents and mishaps involving the V-22 Osprey’s operation, resulting in the death or injury of U.S. servicemembers, including the recent crash that killed Air Force Staff Sgt. Jacob Galliher of Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
Since the V-22 Osprey’s initial development and entry into service in 2007, it has been involved in 14 crashes that caused 54 deaths. In just the last two years, in several V-22 Osprey accidents, 13 servicemembers have died, including another Massachusetts constituent, Marine Corps Capt. Ross A. Reynolds, a MV-22B Osprey pilot and native of Leominster, who died in a crash near Bodø, Norway. Since the accident involving Staff Sergeant Galliher, the Department of Defense has grounded all V-22 Osprey aircraft.
“We welcome the Department of Defense’s decision to ground all V-22 Osprey flight operations and urge you to continue to do so until it conclusively deems the aircraft safe and to answer questions about the aircraft’s continued use despite these many tragic incidents,” write the lawmakers in their letter.
The lawmakers continued, “No other U.S. service member should be injured or perish in a V-22 Osprey accident or mishap. We urge the Defense Department, and the Departments of the Air Force and the Navy to ensure that the V-22 Osprey is safe to fly before allowing service members from across the Commonwealth and the United States back on board.”
Senators Markey and Warren, and Rep. Neal request that the Secretary of Defense respond to questions by January 31, 2024:
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