Warren, Markey, Neal Statement on Federal Government Probe of V-22 Osprey Safety Record
Washington, D.C. — Today, Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Edward J. Markey, along with Congressman Richard Neal (MA-01), released the following statement after the Government Accountability Office (GAO) agreed to probe the safety record of the V-22 Osprey program. Senator Warren called for the military to ground the V-22 until the military is confident that more lives would not be lost in December, which the military did. In December 2023, the Massachusetts lawmakers called on the Department of Defense to examine the safety of the V-22 Osprey aircraft and its operation in the Air Force, Marine, Corps, and Navy:
“We are pleased that the GAO will be investigating the safety record of the V-22 Osprey program. This is an important step to get answers for the Galliher family and everyone who has been affected by ongoing and serious safety issues. Staff Sergeant Galliher served our nation with honor and pride, and our hearts are with every community that has lost a service member to senseless accidents involving the V-22 Ospreys. We look forward to responses from the Department of Defense to our December letter, and we will continue to do everything in our power to prevent such tragedies from ever happening again.”
In November 2023, Air Force Staff Sgt. Jacob Galliher of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, was killed in a V-22 Osprey crash in the Pacific, along with seven other service members. Since the V-22 Osprey’s initial development and entry into service in 2007, it has been involved in 14 crashes that caused 54 deaths. In just the last two years, in several V-22 Osprey accidents, 13 service members have died, including another Massachusetts constituent, Marine Corps Capt. Ross A. Reynolds.
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