Red arrows indicate damage on a SRTV-SXV Tactical Vehicle that rolled over Feb. 17, 2023, in the Northern Mariana Islands and severely injured two airmen. (U.S. Air Force)

Two airmen permanently injured last year in a tactical vehicle rollover in the Northern Mariana Islands were driving too fast and not wearing seat belts, the Air Force said in a recently released report.

The driver, a male captain, was left permanently paralyzed below the waist after being thrown from the vehicle after it veered from a dirt road and rolled over Feb. 17, 2023, near North Field on the western Pacific island of Tinian, the investigative report states.

The sole passenger, a female staff sergeant, was struck by the vehicle after being thrown from it, suffering a pelvic fracture and injuries to her abdomen and one leg that required an above-the-knee amputation.

The report does not disclose the airmen’s names.

The captain, a tactical air control party officer assigned to the 25th Air Support Operations Squadron at Wheeler Army Airfield, Hawaii, was tasked with managing air-to-ground communications for the exercise.

The staff sergeant, assigned to the 1st Combat Camera Squadron at Joint Base Charleston, S.C., was taking photos and video of the exercise, which involved more than 100 aircraft and 2,000 personnel from four nations.

It was staged out of multiple locations, including Guam, Saipan and Tinian, a tiny island of about 39 square miles and 3,000 inhabitants. The island’s airfield was a base for B-29 Superfortress bomber operations during World War II.

The photo at left shows vegetation flattened by a SRTV-SXV Tactical Vehicle that rolled over in the Northern Mariana Islands, severely injuring two airmen. The right photo shows tire marks departing the road, according to an Air Force report. (U.S. Air Force)

The sergeant told investigators that she had not previously ridden in this type of vehicle, formally known as an SRTV-SXV Tactical Vehicle, and had asked the captain to help her secure the harness buckle.

The captain told her that there was no need for seatbelts “because it was only a 5-minute drive” to Chulu Beach, the report states.

The staff sergeant “developed a nervous feeling” about the vehicle’s speed as it rolled down the narrow dirt road lined with jungle growth.

The tires were “kicking up gravel from the poorly maintained roads” and the vehicle was “swerving in and out of the vegetation overgrowth along the sides of the road,” she told investigators.

The captain ignored several pleas by the staff sergeant to slow down, the report states.

The captain told investigators his last recollection before the rollover was that “an issue arose with the steering” and that he overcorrected the steering toward the driver’s side.

He told investigators he did not recall hearing any warnings from his passenger nor what speed they were traveling before the rollover.

“A visit to the accident site, review of post-accident scene pictures, and an informed understanding of the surrounding vegetation where the [vehicle] came to rest indicates that [it] was going approximately 40-50 mph immediately before the mishap,” the report states.

“There were no posted speed limit signs on the road where the mishap occurred; however, the local police officer responding to the mishap said that given the narrowness of the road and overgrown vegetation, law enforcement would assess a speed limit of about 15 miles per hour,” the report states.

A civilian witness to the rollover notified security forces of the rollover.

The staff sergeant was flown to Guam on a cargo plane to receive immediate medical care.

The captain was transported to Guam aboard a Japanese UH-60J helicopter.