If you believe that article linked by SASless, this tragedy was the results of numerous failures to follow basic procedure. And it never should have happened.
Seriously, did maintenance personnel actually use epoxy to seal an oil filter housing? And did other maintenance personnel later issue several waivers when the epoxied housing could not be removed to replace the oil filter? It boggles the mind to think this could happen. These military personnel are provided excellent training to service these aircraft. And there was no reason for them to cut corners in a situation like this.
Lastly, I can't imagine why the pilot of this aircraft chose not to immediately set down after the warning display. She was an experienced officer and there is nothing but flat desert in the 29 Palms area. I feel for the two Marine pilots that lost their lives, but they apparently made a poor decision. I also think the USMC should have disciplined the personnel involved with the original maintenance issue and the associated waivers. Their names don't need to be made public, but they should have been held accountable.
The situation is very similar to the 2009 S-92 accident. Maintenance problems resulted in the oil filter housing coming loose in flight and causing loss of all main gearbox oil.
Last edited by riff_raff; 28th Oct 2015 at 04:25.