Relatives of service members killed in Osprey aircraft crashes clasp hands before a hearing on the Department of Defense’s V-22 Osprey program, June 12, 2024, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Joe Gromelski/Special to Stars and Stripes)

WASHINGTON — The military’s nearly 400 V-22 Ospreys will not be permitted to fly their full range of missions until mid-2025, the leader of the aircraft program told House lawmakers on Wednesday.

“I will not certify the V-22 to return to unrestricted flight operations until I am satisfied that we have sufficiently addressed the issues that may affect the safety of the aircraft,” Vice Adm. Carl Chebi, who leads U.S. Naval Air Systems Command, told a subpanel of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability.

The House committee announced its investigation into the safety of the aircraft in December 2023 after an Osprey flown by Air Force special operators crashed off Japan’s coast on Nov. 29 killing eight service members. This crash was the fourth in two years, killing 20 troops in total.

Chebi said 64 service members have been killed in air and ground accidents and another 93 have been injured since the military started flying the aircraft in 2007.

Peter Belk, left to right, performing the duties of assistant secretary of defense for readiness; Vice Adm. Carl Chebi, commander of the U.S. Naval Air Systems Command; and Gary Kurtz, DOD’s program executive officer for air anti-submarine warfare and special missions programs, listen during a hearing on the V-22 Osprey program, June 12, 2024, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Joe Gromelski/Special to Stars and Stripes)

The U.S. military grounded all Ospreys used by the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps following the incident. The services returned their Ospreys to flight status after Naval Air Systems Command lifted a three-month ban on March 8.

At the time of the November crash, investigators thought the problem might involve the aircraft’s propeller rotor gearbox, NBC News reported.

Chebi told lawmakers on Wednesday that it will be at least another six to nine months before his command will be able to complete all the safety and performance assessments for the Osprey, which can fly like an airplane and land like a helicopter.

Lawmakers expressed their frustrations regarding the lack of access to safety information records that they have requested. The House subpanel has yet to receive the wear and replacement rates on Osprey proprotor gearboxes, a component that was a factor in the crash off Japan.

“The repeated drumbeat of fatalities is totally unacceptable,” said Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass. “What do you think the consequences will be if we have another V-22 go down, and we lose more brave Marines or airmen between now and the time ... that we might have this clutch situation figured out? Your whole program’s done. It’s done. If another Osprey goes down, we’re done. This program’s done. So why don’t we ground this now?”

Marine Corps Osprey in June 2023 preparing to embark the USS New York, a San Antonio-class amphibious transportation dock ship. (William Bennett IV/U.S. Navy)

Committee members also have asked for internal crash reports that the military conducts with surviving air and ground crews and witnesses. The reports, known as safety investigation board reports, aren’t available to the public and cannot be used to punish a crew. They are in place to identify and quickly share any safety issues among the fleet.

“Whenever I hear about one of these things going down … it always bothers me. It’s one thing to lose somebody in combat but to lose somebody in a non-combat situation should be almost inexcusable,” said Rep. Glenn Grothman, R-Wis., chairman of the House subpanel.

One reason for the extension of restricted flight is the military is still working to fix a clutch failure that was identified as one of the primary factors in a June 2022 crash that killed five Marines in California, The Associated Press reported.

The families of four Marines killed in the Osprey crash filed a lawsuit last month naming Osprey producers Boeing, Bell Textron, Rolls Royce Corp. and Rolls Royce North America and accusing the aircraft makers of being liable for its defective design and manufacture.

Family members of various fallen service members attended the hearing. Some could be seen seated behind the three officials testifying holding pictures of loved ones in their laps. The three officials were Chebi, Peter Belk, who is performing the duties of assistant secretary of defense for readiness at the Pentagon, and Gary Kurtz, program executive officer for the air, anti-submarine warfare, assault and special mission programs at the Pentagon.

Lawmakers expressed their appreciation for the families who attended the hearing to keep pushing for changes.

Belk turned to the family members during his opening remarks to tell them that they had his commitment “to continue to drive the safest outcomes possible … to reduce mishaps in the future.”

Brett Strickland displays a tattoo of his son, Lance Cpl. Evan Strickland, before a hearing on the Department of Defense’s V-22 Osprey program, June 12, 2024, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Lance Cpl. Strickland was among those killed on June 8, 2022, in the Southern California crash of a Marine Osprey, call sign Swift 11. (Joe Gromelski/Special to Stars and Stripes)