209 In May 1991, Richards and several: “Richards joins effort to attract funding for new tiltrotor airplane,” United Press International, May 13, 1991.
209 on March 5, ABC-TV hosted a debate: ABC News Transcript, March 5, 1992, Super Tuesday Debate.
210 A few months earlier: Spivey, Mary Howell, interviews.
211 On April 2, 1992, Cheney sent Congress: Letter from Defense Secretary Dick Cheney to Thomas S. Foley, Speaker of the House of Representatives, April 2, 1992.
211 Soon others in the Osprey camp: Rep. H. Martin Lancaster, D-N.C., At-Large Majority Whip, “Dear Colleague” letter to members of the House of Representatives, May 8, 1992.
211 “When the check cutting office”: “Tongue Twister,” Inside the Pentagon, May 21, 1992.
211 On June 3, 1992, Sean O’Keefe came: O’Keefe, interviews; letter from the Comptroller General of the United States to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, GAO/OGC-92–11, June 3, 1992.
211 Two days after the GAO ruled: Tom Belden, “Backers of Osprey growing optimistic,” Philadelphia Inquirer, June 14, 1992.
212 wrote Clinton a letter inviting him: Letter from Sen. Lloyd Bentsen, D-Texas, and Rep. Jack Brooks, D-Texas, to Gov. Bill Clinton, June 23, 1992.
212 Cheney sent Congress a letter offering: Letter from Defense Secretary Dick Cheney to Thomas S. Foley, Speaker of the House of Representatives, July 2, 1992.
212 nothing more than a face-saving move: 1992 CQ Almanac, p. 505.
212 On the House floor later: Congressional Record, July 29, 1992, p. E2294.
213 Schaefer decided it would be a good time: Schaefer, interview.
215 There were mechanical problems: Martin LeCloux, Tom Macdonald, Col. (ret.) Paul Croisetiere, interviews.
216 Dodge’s Multiservice Operational Test Team: Col. (ret.) Kevin Dodge, interview.
217 The wives passed the time: Michelle Stecyk Kovtonuk, interview; Nathan Gorenstein, “Mission to Display Military Aircraft Was Fatally Flawed,” Philadelphia Inquirer, Nov. 14, 1993.
217 On July 12, Lieutenant Colonel Paul Martin: V-22 Court of Inquiry Report, Investigation of the Circumstances Surrounding the Loss of V-22 UNO 163914 on 20 July 1992 Near Quantico, Va. (hereafter Court of Inquiry Report).
218 Sunday afternoon, Sullivan went over: Macdonald, Wilson, interviews.
218 On Friday, he had given an engagement ring: Joe Hart, “Crash took her love: Osprey tragedy claimed pilot who was to wed today,” Delaware County Daily Times, July 30, 1992.
218 Sullivan stayed at the hangar: Court of Inquiry Report.
218 Wilson and Macdonald went to the bar: Macdonald, Wilson, interviews.
219 Joyce got his chance to fly: LeCloux, Macdonald, Wilson, interviews.
219 Mayan gladly would have given Joyce his seat: Kathi Mayan, interview.
219 That Monday morning, Michelle: Kovtonuk, interview.
220 About four hours later: Court of Inquiry Report: Cockpit Voice Transcript, V-22 BUNO 163914 Mishap 20 July 20, 1992. The account of the flight is based on the Cockpit Voice Transcript and interviews with Macdonald and Wilson.
226 The commandant, General Carl Mundy: Schaefer, interview; Gorenstein, “Mission to Display.”
228 Alerted by radio: Dodge, interviews. The description of the crash is based on a video of the mishap provided to the author by Bell Helicopter.
229 A half hour or so later: Macdonald, Wilson, interviews. Wilson recalled the dialogue.
230 It rang that afternoon: Schaefer, interview.
231 His first act was to seize: Dodge, interview.
231 The next day, Pentagon spokesman: U.S. Defense Department Regular Briefing, Briefer: Pete Williams, July 21, 1992.
231 That evening, Curt Weldon: Congressional Record—House, July 21, 1992, p. H 6336.
232 As Geren had told: Barton Gellman, “Accident Is Latest Twist For Troubled Program,” Washington Post, July 21, 1992.
232 Crashes were nothing new in aviation: Geren, interview.
232 Navy scuba divers found Aircraft 4: Court of Inquiry Report.
233 Michelle Stecyk buried her husband: Kovtonuk, interview.
233 Eleven days before: Bob Torgerson, Weldon, interviews.
234 he wasn’t sure the Marines really needed: The Status of the V-22 Tiltrotor Aircraft Program, Hearing Before the Procurement and Military Nuclear Systems Subcommittee and the Research and Development Subcommittee of the Committee on Armed Services, House of Representatives, One Hundred Second Congress, Second Session, Aug. 5, 1992, p. 9.
234 The Navy Department announced: Memorandum for Correspondents No. 279-M, Navy Office of Information, Sept. 29, 1992.
235 Analyses of wreckage: Court of Inquiry Report.
236 In a case that lasted nearly a decade: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Civil Action Nos. 94-cv-01818/04343/04343; United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Nos. 99–2030/99–2051.
237 Clinton endorsed the Osprey: “CLINTON: WHAT? NO TRIP TO THE ALAMO?,” Hotline, Aug. 28, 1992.
237 In September, Gore visited: Transcript provided to the author by Bell Helicopter.
237 Eleven days after that debate: U.S. General Accounting Office, Report to the Chairman, Committee on Armed Services, House of Representatives, Navy Aviation: V-22 Development—Schedule Extended, Performance Reduced, and Costs Increased, January 1994, p. 3.
238 which had cost Bell and Boeing: Tony Capaccio and Eric Rosenberg, “DCAA Audits Say Osprey Costs are Soaring As Technical Questions Persist,” Defense Week, Dec. 9, 1991.
238 After Quayle left: Schaefer, interview.
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241 He and three Bell engineers: United States Design Patent US D453,317 S, filed Dec. 1, 2000, by John A. DeTore, Richard F. Spivey, Malcolm P. Foster, and Tom L. Wood. The Quad TiltRotor patent was assigned to Bell Helicopter Textron Inc. and granted Feb. 5, 2002.
241 Spivey had briefed General Jones: Spivey, Gen. (ret.) James L. Jones, interviews.
242 Shaffer and Sweaney exchanged grins: Col (ret.) Jim Shaffer, interview.
243 “Every few decades”: U.S. Department of Defense News Transcript, Tiltrotor Technology Presentation, Remarks As Delivered by Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen, The Pentagon, Washington, D.C., Wednesday, Sept. 8, 1999.
243 No one asked Cohen to clarify: U.S. Department of Defense News Transcript, Media Availability at Tilt-rotor Day with Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen, Sept. 8, 1999.
244 Over the past seven years: Statistics on CH-46E Class A mishaps in fiscal years 1993–1999 provided to the author by the Public Affairs Office of the Naval Safety Center, Norfolk, Va.
244 In 1998, General Charles Krulak: Hearings before the Committee on Armed Services, United States Senate, One Hundred Fifth Congress, Second Session, Feb. 5, 1998. Quoted in “Clippings: CMC Reports to Congress,” Osprey Fax, Bell-Boeing Tiltrotor Team, vol. 9, no. 1, March 26, 1998.
245 the cost of each Osprey: Audit Report, Inspector General Department of Defense, V-22 Osprey Joint Advanced Vertical Aircraft, Report No. D-2000–174, Aug. 15, 2000, p. 2; hereafter Aug. 15, 2000, DOD IG Audit.
245 80 percent of the engineering drawings were new: Stanley W. Kandebo, “V-22 Team Lowering Osprey Production Costs,” Aviation Week & Space Technology, Nov. 15, 1993, p. 58.
245 One of the biggest differences: Hart, Byrne, interviews.
246 Aluminum frames for the Osprey: Stanley W. Kandebo, “V-22 Modifications Focus on Cost, Producibility,” Aviation Week & Space Technology, May 22, 1995, p. 35.
246 no longer mostly composite, just 43 percent: Bill Norton, Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey Tiltrotor Tactical Transport (Hinckley, U.K.: Midland, 2004), p. 52.
246 The advent of liquid crystal displays: “Situational Awareness Prompts Cockpit Redesign,” Aviation Week & Space Technology, May 22, 1995, p. 38.
247 Navair approved the revamped design: J
ohn Boatman, “Osprey final design is frozen in latest review,” Jane’s Defence Weekly, Jan. 21, 1995, p. 6.
247 Three years later: Navair Chronology.
247 Critics derided it: Franklin C. Spinney and John J. Shanahan, “Great Idea! Buy First, Then Find Out If It Flies,” Washington Post, Feb. 11, 2001, p. B1.
248 As of 1995, the “self-deployment” requirement: Operational Requirements Document (ORD) for the Joint Multi-Mission Vertical Lift Aircraft (JMVX), March 4, 1995, Serial Numbers: 384–88–94 (USN), AAS 48 (USMC), 02192I (SOC), p. 5.
248 The Osprey wasn’t the only program: William B. Scott, “New Global Pressures Reshape Flight Testing,” Aviation Week & Space Technology, June 12, 1995, p. 62.
252 wrote the OPEVAL plan: Shaffer, interview.
252 MOTT leader Sweaney talked: Carol Sweaney, interview.
253 Sweaney liked to use Rock: Shaffer, interview.
254 In 1990, two Japanese companies: “Costs of Developing Civil Tilt-Rotor Reduce Chances of Japanese Role,” Aviation Week & Space Technology, May 7, 1990, p. 57; “Lack of partners forces Ishida to abandon TW-68 tiltwing aircraft,” Aerospace Daily, June 25, 1993.
255 Navair and the Marines sent one: “‘Realites’ From Le Bourget,” Aviation Week & Space Technology, June 19, 1995, p. 86.
256 In his thesis, Magnus: Robert Magnus, “An Assessment of Civil Tiltrotor Market Potential,” MBA thesis, Graduate School of Business, Strayer College, Washington, D.C., August 1992, p. 44.
257 Besides those in the United States: Bell Helicopter Textron Inc. press handout, April 2000.
257 “Tell us what it does”: Shaffer, Lt. Gen. (ret.) Fred McCorkle, interviews.
258 The MOTT started OPEVAL in November: Combined Operational Test & Evaluation and Live Fire Test & Evaluation Report on the V-22 Osprey, Director, Operational Test & Evaluation, Department of Defense, Nov. 17, 2000, and author interviews with MOTT members.
262 They asked fundamental questions: Shaffer, interview.
262 The mission to Marana on April 8: The account of the mission and crash at Marana is based on Judge Advocate General Manual Report of 21 July 2000, Investigation into the circumstances surrounding the Class “A” aircraft mishap involving an MV-22B Osprey BUNO 165436 that occurred on 8 April 2000 at Marana Northwest Regional Airport near Tucson, Arizona (hereafter Marana JAGMAN Report); “Nighthawk 71 Cockpit Video” and Transcript of Cockpit Voice Recording A/C 165433 8 April 00; and author interviews with Staff Sgt. (ret.) Julius Banks, Lt. Col. Anthony Bianca, Sgt. (ret.) Michael Moffitt, Rock, Lt. Col. (ret.) Jim Schafer, Shaffer, and Lt. Col. (ret.) Mike Westman.
274 Sweaney had been through: Paul Richter, “Osprey’s Hopes and Heartbreak,” Los Angeles Times, Feb. 19, 2001; Carol Sweaney, interview.
277 Westman was leaning in the doorway: Westman, interview. McCorkle confirmed the phone call and what he said to Sweaney but didn’t recall hearing Westman’s remark.
277 Three days after the crash: U.S. Department of Defense News Transcript, DOD News Briefing, April 11, 2000.
278 Three days after McCorkle briefed the press: “Doubts About the High-Risk Osprey,” New York Times, April 14, 2000.
278 Others called for an end: “Aircraft a lemon with wings,” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, April 10, 2000.
279 “It’s a terrible tragedy”: Dan Hardy, “Osprey craft has seen some other troubles,” Philadelphia Inquirer, April 10, 2000.
279 McCorkle was back in the Pentagon briefing room: U.S. Department of Defense News Transcript, DOD News Briefing, April 20, 2000.
279 McCorkle addressed the unit: McCorkle, Banks, Col. J. T. Torres, interviews.
280 Sweaney called a meeting: Banks, Shaffer, Westman, interviews.
280 McCorkle was in a good mood: U.S. Department of Defense News Transcript, DOD News Briefing, May 9, 2000; McCorkle, interview.
283 McCorkle was back in the Pentagon press briefing room on July 27: U.S. Department of Defense News Transcript, DOD News Briefing, July 27, 2000.
284 Beyond being distraught: McCorkle, Connie Gruber, interviews.
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286 On the last day: Judge Advocate General Manual Report of 23 Feb 2001, Command Investigation into the Circumstances Surrounding the Class “A” Aircraft Mishap Involving a MV-22B Osprey, BUNO 165440, That Occurred on 11 December 2000 Near Jacksonville, North Carolina (hereafter New River JAGMAN Report); Carol Sweaney, interview.
286 “I’m confident it should be approved”: Robert Burns, “Marines Expecting New Aircraft OK,” Associated Press, Nov. 30, 2000.
286 Over the past five months: Shaffer, interview.
287 Many Marine Corps ground troops: Jones, interview.
287 “If there was the slightest doubt”: Ben Fox, “Marine Corps commandant takes first Osprey passenger flight since deadly crash,” Associated Press, June 17, 2000.
288 The report said the Navy Department: Inspector General Department of Defense Audit Report No. D-2000–174, V-22 Osprey Joint Advanced Vertical Aircraft, Aug. 15, 2000, (hereafter August 2000 IG Audit).
288 fallen well short of its targets: OT&E OPEVAL Report. The statistics on the Osprey’s mission-capable rates during the 1999–2000 OPEVAL and the characterization of its availability as “unsatisfactory” are taken from MV-22 OPEVAL (OT-IIE) Final Report Brief, Maj. A. J. Bianca, USMC, HMX-1 V-22 Operational Test Director, As given 11 Oct 2000 by Lt. Col. Keith Sweaney. The briefing was among documents provided to the author by Harry Dunn.
289 all eleven Ospreys in use were grounded: “Osprey aircraft to fly; CH-53 helicopters remain grounded,” Associated Press, Sept. 5, 2000.
289 Someone asked Cheney: Dan Hardy and Ralph Vigoda, “Hybrid craft under heavy scrutiny, Osprey under fire for crash history, other testing issues,” Philadelphia Inquirer, Dec. 24, 2000.
289 Navair’s latest estimate: August 2000 IG Audit.
289 the Navy’s Operational Test and Evaluation Force declared: U.S. Department of Defense News Release, MV-22 Declared Effective, Suitable for Land-Based Ops, Oct. 13, 2000.
290 On November 17, he issued his own report: OT&E OPEVAL Report.
290 After listening to a briefing: Navair Chronology.
290 The Osprey that Keith Sweaney: New River JAGMAN Report.
291 About 3 P.M., not long after: Katrina Sweaney, interview.
291 Sweaney had 271 flight hours: New River JAGMAN Report.
292 Staff Sergeant Julius Banks told them: Banks, interview.
292 Dunnivan climbed out: Col. (ret.) Richard Dunnivan, interview.
293 At 5:39 P.M., Murphy and Sweaney: The account of the New River crash is based on the New River JAGMAN Report and author interviews with Banks, Dunnivan, Stevie Jarman, Sue Jarman, Moffitt, Rock, and Westman.
299 The next morning at about eleven o’clock: U.S. Department of Defense News Transcript, Lt. Gen. McCorkle Briefing on the Recent MV-22 Osprey Crash, Dec. 12, 2000.
302 A friend who answered the phone: Carol Sweaney, interview.
303 Wallace sent Carol Sweaney a handwritten apology: Photocopy provided to the author by Carol Sweaney.
303 McCorkle fired off his own letter: Howard Kurtz, “Marines Blast Mike Wallace for ‘Insensitivity,’” Washington Post, Jan. 3, 2001.
304 Even before this latest crash: Paul Gallagher, Cpl. (ret.) Clifford Carlson, interviews.
304 On November 21, four days after Coyle: Report on the Investigation Concerning the Falsification of MV-22 Osprey Maintenance and Readiness Records, Inspector General Department of Defense, Dec. 11, 2000 (hereafter DOD IG Records Falsification Report).
305 Everybody in Marine Corps aviation knew: Dunnivan, Gen. (ret.) John R. Dailey, interviews. Others disputed the assertion that units had been “gaming” their reports, a description offered by Dunnivan. Dailey agreed with Dunnivan.
305 The disappointment with VMMT-204’s readiness rate: DOD IG Records Falsification Report.
307 Carlson made five
copies of his recording: Carlson, interview.
309 Now they wanted to get it on the air: Gallagher, interview.
310 Afterward, the Pentagon issued: U.S. Department of Defense News Release, “Marine Corps to Investigate Osprey Squadron,” Jan. 18, 2001.
310 Wallace appeared on the: CBS News Transcript, CBS Evening News, Jan. 18, 2001.
311 He told the roomful of reporters: U.S. Department of Defense News Transcript, Lt. Gen. Fred McCorkle Briefs on MV-22 Maintenance Allegation, Jan. 19, 2001.
312 On Friday, the day after: Robert Burns, “Officer admitted asking Marines to falsify Osprey records,” Associated Press, Jan. 19, 2001.
312 The next morning, an editorial: “Dangerous Deceptions on the Osprey,” New York Times, Jan. 21, 2001.
312 That evening, CBS broadcast: CBS News Transcripts, 60 Minutes, Jan. 21, 2001.
314 The night after the broadcast: NewsHour with Jim Lehrer Transcript, “Commandant James Jones,” Jan. 22, 2001.
315 Frank Gaffney, a former Reagan: Frank Gaffney, “Osprey as Phoenix,” The Washington Times, Jan. 23, 2001.
315 one in the Chicago Tribune saying: “Kill the Osprey before it kills again,” Chicago Tribune, Jan. 23, 2001.
315 sent Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld: Robert Burns, “Marines cede control of Osprey probe to Pentagon’s top investigator,” Associated Press, Jan. 24, 2001.
316 Jones issued a statement: United States Marine Corps News Release, “DoD IG asked to assume investigative lead,” Jan. 24, 2001.
316 Vice President Dick Cheney was asked: ABC News Transcript, “Vice President Dick Cheney Discusses Washington Issues,” This Week, Jan. 28, 2001.
316 followed by an article in Aviation Week: Robert Wall, “V-22 Support Fades Amid Accidents, Accusations, Probes,” Aviation Week & Space Technology, Jan. 29. 2001, p. 28.
316 Donald Trump, once a member: Jonathan S. Landay and Peter Nicholas, “Congress wants review of Osprey; future funding could depend on findings,” Knight Ridder Washington Bureau, Feb. 1, 2001.
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318 He also had published a popular book: Norman R. Augustine, Augustine’s Laws, (Reston, Va.: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 1997).
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