Deadliest Crash in Years Highlights Concerns Over Osprey
By Greg Hadley and David Roza
F
orty-three days after a U.S. Air Force CV-22 Osprey crashed off the coast of Japan for reasons still not explained, the Pentagon halted search and recovery operations with the remains of one Airman, Maj. Eric Spendlove, a flight surgeon, still missing.
The crew of the Osprey, call sign “Gundam 22,” were on a training mission out of Yokota Air Base, Japan, on Nov. 29 when the tilt-rotor aircraft caught fire and crashed. It was the deadliest Air Force aviation mishap since 2018, when nine Air Guardsmen were killed in a WC-130 crash in Georgia.
Osprey safety concerns are not new. While the crash was the first fatal CV-22 accident for the Air Force since 2010, other services have suffered losses in recent years: In August 2023, three Marines were killed in a crash in Australia, and in June 2022, two Marine MV-22s went down in separate incidents, one killing five Marines in Southern California and the other killing four Marines in Norway.
The Air Force also grounded its CV-22 fleet briefly in 2022 after a series of hard clutch engagements—in which the clutch slips and reengages—caused USAF Ospreys to make emergency landings.
Following the November crash, the House Oversight Committee opened an investigation, requesting extensive documentation from the Pentagon, Committee Chair Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) wrote in a Dec. 21 letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III. The Government Accountability Office will also conduct its own review after receiving a request from the House Armed Services readiness subcommittee.
While the investigations began, the search for the eight Airmen in Japan was extensive. More than 1,000 people, 46 aircraft, 23 vessels, and 21 unmanned aerial and underwater systems plied the waters over a 60,000-square-kilometer area, recovering the bodies of seven Airmen and most of the CV-22 wreckage.
“In times like these, where service to our nation is not just a personal commitment but also a legacy woven into the fabric of our families, the depth of sorrow is immeasurable,” said Lt. Gen. Tony Bauernfeind, AFSOC commander, in a Dec. 5 statement.
Spendlove, 36, of St. George, Utah, was the oldest member of the team, a special operations flight surgeon and medical operations flight commander who led his medical team to improve readiness at the 1st Special Operations Squadron by 94 percent and at the wing by 25 percent, according to his AFSOC biography.
“When he had the opportunity to join a special operations group, he was all over that,” Spendlove’s older sister, Monica Murset, told news station FOX 13 in Salt Lake City. “It gave him access to traveling the world alongside some true heroes, and he absolutely loved serving his country.”
Capt. Terrell Brayman, 32, of Pittsford, N.Y., felt a similar dedication to his job. The former U-28A Draco pilot became a CV-22 pilot in 2020 and was “a naturally talented pilot and officer,” Lt. Col. Tyler Oldham, head of the 21st Special Operations Squadron, said in Brayman’s biography. Daniel Bobry, a friend of Brayman, was impressed by his work ethic at Ohio State University, where Brayman studied astronautical engineering.
“He was up at 3:30, 4 o’clock every day at ROTC, always smiling, never complained,” Bobry told New York news station WHAM-Rochester. “He just did his job and did it well and always had a smile on his face.”
A fellow CV-22 pilot, Maj. Luke Unrath, 34, hailed from Riverside, Calif., where the triplet left a mark on his parents and siblings.
“It would be impossible for us to express in a few words what an amazing son Luke was,” Unrath’s parents told Southern California newspaper The Press-Enterprise. “Even though we raised him in faith, he taught us so much, what it is to live a Christ-centered life. He chose this path and career because he wanted to help people.”
Oldham was also impressed by the pilot, who started his career as an engineer before cross-training into aviation in 2019.
“People gravitated toward him and would follow him due to his cool, calm demeanor and high standards,” the squadron boss wrote.
The third pilot aboard ‘Gundam 22’ was Maj. Jeffrey Hoernemann, 32, of Andover, Minn. A Weapons Instructor Course graduate, Hoernemann was an instructor pilot and chief of weapons and tactics at the 21st Special Operations Squadron, where “his character was the benchmark of officership in the United States Air Force,” Oldham wrote.
“Jeff was the best of us,” he added. “His selflessness and leadership through example have left enduring marks upon the culture and values of the members of Air Force Special Operations Command.”
In a statement published by CBS Minnesota, Hoernemann’s family said the major “was proud to have been chosen to fly the CV-22B Osprey. He loved to fly the hybrid aircraft and was never afraid of it.”
Despite being the youngest Airmen aboard, Staff Sgt. Jacob Galliher, 24, of Pittsfield, Mass., made a lasting impression on those around him.
“I looked up to Jake in more ways than one,” Galliher’s best friend, Air Force Staff Sgt. Edward Dobransky, told The Berkshire Eagle, a Massachusetts newspaper. “We lost a superhuman when we lost Jake.”
An airborne linguist specializing in Mandarin, Galliher was an honor graduate or distinguished graduate of several Air Force schools, and his commander said he was just as distinguished as a teammate.
“With a ready smile, Jake brought the unit together on and off-duty through humor and an inexhaustible supply of energy,” Maj. Gilbert Summers, head of the 43rd Intelligence Squadron, Detachment 1, said in a statement. “Everywhere he went, and everyone he met, was made better for him being there.”
Staff Sgt. Jake Turnage, 25, of Kennesaw, Ga., was a special missions aviator and served as lead flight engineer and noncommissioned officer in charge of training at the 21st Special Operations Squadron. He had a lot of responsibility: Alongside his normal duties as flight engineer, loadmaster, and aerial gunner, he also managed the combat arms, survival evasion, resistance, and escape, and chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear training requirements for the squadron. But he seemed to bear it well, according to Oldham.
“Jake’s humor and zeal were contagious,” the commander said. “His magnetic personality was always uplifting and lightened the load of his squadron mates.”
Turnage’s fellow special missions aviator aboard the Osprey was Senior Airman Brian Johnson, 32, of Cincinnati. In a statement published by Ohio news station Dayton 24/7 Now, Johnson’s family described him as “an amazing and caring son, brother, uncle and friend to all.” Oldham praised his “tireless work ethic … his knowledge, skill, and attention to detail inspired competence and trust amongst his fellow aircrew.”
The eighth Airman aboard ‘Gundam 22’ was Tech. Sgt. Zachary Lavoy, 33, of Oviedo, Fla. A medical operations flight chief, Lavoy picked up a number of honors in training, and contributed to multiple unit awards such as the 2019 Air Force Medical Service Medic Rodeo Team of the Year. His commander, Lt. Col. Christopher Pellegrino, head of the 1st Special Operations Squadron, described him as “a compassionate medic with a steadfast devotion to supporting the needs of those around him.”
Lavoy’s mother, Gabriela, could not believe her son was gone when she spoke with Florida news station FOX 35 Orlando on Dec. 6.
“I didn’t think anything could hurt my son,” she said. “You think your kids are invincible. I didn’t think anything could happen to him. I always thought he would be found alive.”
The Air Force, Marine Corps, and Navy announced on Dec. 6 that they were standing down all Osprey operations as the Air Force investigates the cause of the crash.
The Air Force said initial findings suggested there was a “material failure” with the Osprey, indicating pilot error was likely not the primary cause and there was an issue with the aircraft itself.
“The stand-down will provide time and space for a thorough investigation to determine causal factors and recommendations to ensure the Air Force CV-22 fleet returns to flight operations,” Bauernfeind said in a statement at the time.
Ellsworth B-1 Crashes, Pausing Flight Ops
By John A. Tirpak
All four crew members safely ejected before a B-1 crashed in a fiery incident at Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., in January, closing the base’s runway as investigators searched for clues.
A team of investigators launched a safety investigation to identify any mechanical or procedural reasons to ground the entire B-1 fleet; while B-1 operations at Ellsworth paused, operations continued at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, the other main B-1 base, and at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., for test flights.
An Air Force Global Strike Command spokesperson said an accident investigation board chairman had been selected and that reviews of this sort take months. The investigation of Class A mishaps such as this, which can include loss of life, severe injury, loss of an aircraft, or other damage totaling more than $2.5 million, probes crew actions, health, rest and training; the aircraft’s maintenance history; weather conditions; and other salient factors.
Weather conditions at the time of the accident were poor, with below-freezing temperatures and fog in the area. The mishap aircraft was the second in a two-ship formation returning from a training flight; the lead aircraft landed without incident.
Unofficial and unconfirmed imagery circulating on Facebook pages and other social media show a B-1 covered with snow or foam that has been severely burned and bent in a catastrophic manner in a grassy area off a runway. In one image, the B-1, photographed from behind, is resting on its engines and missing its tail cone, with its left elevator badly bent. Additionally, the flaps on the swept-forward wings appear to be skeletonized, likely from fire.
Another image attributed to a NewsCenter 1 webcam shows the aircraft severely damaged from just forward of the wing roots to the nose.
Satellite imagery of Ellsworth dated Jan. 6—taken by Planet Labs and shared with The War Zone—shows that the aircraft struck the ground beyond the overrun of runway 31/13, and after briefly staying on the centerline, veered left off the main runway and came to rest in the grassy area between the runway and the taxiway, leaving a heavy black trail in its wake.
The four crewmembers ejected successfully from the aircraft. Three were treated at base facilities and one at a nearby hospital. All are expected to make a full recovery.
The AFGSC spokesperson said it has not yet been determined if the Air Force will attempt to replace the mishap aircraft by resurrecting one from the “Boneyard” at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz. That determination may have to wait until the Accident Investigation Board (AIB) makes its final report. The Air Force is authorized to operate 45 B-1Bs, but now has only 44.
The Air Force persuaded Congress in 2020 to permit the service to reduce the B-1B fleet from 62 to 45 airframes—but keep the same level of maintenance funding and personnel—in order to improve the mission capability levels of the type, which had been struggling to meet USAF standards after the B-1Bs flew extended duty in Afghanistan and Iraq, incurring heavy structural fatigue.
The Air Force justified the divestiture by saying, in part, that the B-1s identified for retirement would cost from $10 million to $30 million each to restore to full mission capability.
The last of the 17 B-1s retired in the divestiture went to Davis-Monthan in September 2021.
After the retirements, the remaining operational B-1 fleet saw an uptick in mission capability rates, with more spare parts and maintenance crews available for each one.
It’s not clear whether the aircraft sent to Davis-Monthan were put into recallable—or “inviolate”—storage, or whether they have been used for cannibalization purposes.
Since 2012, the Air Force has been running an extended structural fatigue test on a B-1B wing and fuselage, “aging” the items with pulleys and bars to simulate years of flying. The service reported in 2021 that its goal is to accumulate 28,000 simulated flight hours on the wing and 27,000 hours on the fuselage, but it was at that time behind schedule, and had only “aged” the two test articles to about 16,000 hours on the wing and 7,200 hours on the fuselage. The tests are also paused from time to time to make changes and modifications to the test articles so they are representative of operational aircraft, which occasionally have stiffeners or other structural enhancements applied.
In 2021, the B-1 fleet averaged about 12,000 hours of flying time.