June 03, 2011
V-22 widows: Pilots not to blame for Marana crash; one Marine Osprey pilot agrees
Connie Gruber and Trish Brow say it's
time to clear the records of their late husbands. Marine pilots Maj. Brooks Gruber and Lt. Col. John Brow were at the controls the night of April 8, 2000, when the MV-22 Osprey they were attempting to land in Marana, Ariz., suddenly rolled uncontrollably, crashed and exploded. All 19 Marines aboard died.
The official finger of blame was pointed at Brow and Gruber. A "combination of human factors" -- a series of mistakes and misjudgments -- caused the crash, according to the Marine Corps investigation. That explanation was translated into "pilot error" by the media, commentators and even some Marines.
It's a verdict that Connie Gruber and Trish Brow want to see changed -- for their husbands' legacies and for their children. "That tragic accident was the direct result of the crewmen being tasked with an insurmountable, premature mission in a dangerously immature aircraft," Connie Gruber said.
Now a fellow Marine V-22 pilot, Lt. Col. James Schafer, is making much the same argument. The accident was a result of too much pressure from the Marines and others who were trying to get the Osprey program into production. The Marines and the secretary of the Navy "should exonerate" the pilots, Schafer said. "Let's remove the dishonor."