CV-22 crash report: human factors or engine trouble

FT Worth Star Telegram ^ | 12/16/2010 | Bob Cox/FT Worth Star Telegram

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

An Air Force investigation has concluded that the fatal crash of a CV-22 Osprey aircraft in Afghanistan last April resulted from a number of factors, largely flight crew mistakes.

But the official conclusion runs counter to the opinion of the Air Force officer who led the crash investigation, who concluded there was strong evidence to indicate the $87 million-plus aircraft probably had engine trouble in the final seconds leading up to the crash.

Crash site evidence showed the pilot attempted a straight, roll-on landing rather than a standard vertical landing or making a second pass. The only reason the CV-22 pilot would have attempted what is considered an emergency landing would have been a lack of engine power, the report concludes.

It is unlikely, Brig. Gen. Donald Harvel wrote in the report, “that this very experienced and competent (pilot) would have chosen to execute a roll-on landing on rough terrain if he had power available to go around and set up for another approach.”

[O6ret]

All things considered I’d be inclined to believe the findings of the investigating officer than I would those of an unnamed Air Force official.

[Pentagon Leatherneck]

Maybe so, but BG Harvel himself cites an absence of clear facts supporting his speculation that the right engine failed during a critical phase of flight in which the crew found themselves high, fast, and descending faster than planned.

TC