III MEF CG MV-22 mishap - Press Conference and Q&ATranscript

OKINAWA, OKINAWA, JAPAN

12.14.2016

Story by 1st Lt. Brianna French 

III Marine Expeditionary Force   

LT. GEN. NICHOLSON: First of all good afternoon everybody, thank you for responding on such short notice to come here to see us today.

I’ve just concluded a meeting with the Okinawa Provincial Government, Vice Governor [Mistuo] Ageda was here. We had a very useful discussion and I certainly appreciate his and Governor Onaga’s concern for the welfare for the 5 Marines who were the crewmen aboard the aircraft.

Vice Governor also expressed, in strongest terms, his concern about the safe operations of the Osprey aircraft here in Okinawa and we certainly understand and appreciate his concerns as well as the concerns of the people of Okinawa.

My Sergeant Major and my Command Master Chief and I just returned from the hospital where we had the chance to visit our wounded Marines and out of five, three were treated and released last night, two are still in the hospital for further observation and we wish them a speedy recovery and we will track them very closely as they progress through the medical cycle.

I have stood at this podium before and told the members of the media and members of the Okinawa press that we were going to be open, that we were going to talk about what happened and today I will do exactly that.

At approximately 9:30 pm (JST) last night that we had multiple aircraft refueling from a US Air Force tanker about 30 km off the coast of Okinawa.

There were multiple Ospreys and some CH-53s. I want you to understand it’s routine. All over the world and all over our area of operations, tanking aircraft, whether they’re Harriers, Hornets, Ospreys or CH-53s, it is critically important that our pilots have a great familiarity and skill in tanking with both Marines and Air Force aircraft.

The ability for our pilots to link up with the tanker and get fuel to continue the mission is critical to our success and to our mission here in the Pacific region.

Each pilot must demonstrate proficiency, and we practice first in simulation day-time, night-time, outside, low-level, high-level, we’ll do it at different altitudes, so all of our pilots have experience in refueling under a diverse set of conditions.

One of our pilots on board last night was involved in flying to Kumamoto during the earthquake. You will recall we were training in the Philippines. When we got the call, the Ospreys lifted off from the Philippines and they refueled in the air, tanking, all the way to Kumamoto where they provided humanitarian and crisis response support.

Ospreys have lifted off from Okinawa and flown straight to Nepal without stopping, refueling all the way to Nepal to provide humanitarian disaster relief.

Our own Consulate General was on an Osprey that flew into the Philippines.

CONGEN: After Typhoon Haiyan in 2013. I was onboard an Osprey that had come from Okinawa and was headed to the disaster zone down in Tacloban. I was on it as it refueled in the air and because of that unique capability we were able to land in remote parts of the disaster zone that contributed to saving tens and thousands of lives.

LT. GEN. NICHOLSON: So here is what happened and like I said I am going to be open with you. Here is what happened. Last night at approximately 2200 one of our ospreys that was getting gas, tanking and refueling off of an Air Force C-130 aircraft, the propeller cut the refueling hose, that is extended from the refueler. There is a basket and the aircraft has to insert a probe into the basket and during this process which is practiced continuously, during this process the hose was cut. By cutting the hose, it inflicted damage onto the blade of the osprey. The blade that was spinning now cut the hose and is damaged. We have a young pilot that is in the hospital today, whose heroic actions last night prevented a disaster.

Let me tell you what this pilot did after his aircraft unhooked from the tanker: it is shaking violently because it just cut a very think and strong powerful hose and that aircraft that is coming into shore.

So the pilot is in an aircraft that is damaged, because the propeller is damaged. And he understands that he is 20 to 30 kilometers out at sea and he is trying to get home like he should. He realizes that the airplane is damaged. He can’t go all the way around the island to Kadena. He made a decision that he will not fly over Okinawan homes and families. He makes a conscious decision to try and get to camp Schwab (at least as close as he can get to Camp Schwab) and land in the shallow waters. That was his aim, to protect his crew and to protect the people of Okinawa.

I am very proud of our young pilot and the decision he made to not try and get to Futenma or Kadena but to try and get close to shore and land as close to the beach as possible, an incredible decision under very difficult circumstances.

So this is what we know right now: as you can imagine several investigations have started. They will review the procedures and we will find out exactly, not so much what happened because we think we know that, but why it happened and how it happened.

I am incredibly grateful to the Japan coast guard and their immediate response as well as to the Okinawan police for their support in securing the crash site and protecting it and working together in protecting the crash site so we can fully investigate the scene.

I think it also shows the durability of this Osprey platform, to sustain that kind of damage to a blade and still be able to get to the shore and land just off the beach. I think it shows a very steady, strong and rugged platform.

As you all know the Osprey has flown in multiple countries across the world. Soon Japan will have Ospreys as well, and the decisions were made from Washington that we would not stop flying Ospreys in California or anywhere around the world. Based on what we know, the Osprey was damaged because the blades hit the hose. So the decision was made around the world in the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Marines and many different nations that the Ospreys will keep flying.

As the commander of Marine Forces Japan, I have decided that we will stop flying Ospreys here in Okinawa today and we will not fly again until I am satisfied that we have reviewed our check lists, that we have reviewed our safety of flight procedures, and that Gen. Sanborn, my commanding general of the 1st Marine Air Wing, comes back to me and tells me we have accomplished everything we need to accomplish to be able to fly Ospreys again.

What we have been able to rule out, though, is mechanical failure, because it is not a mystery. We know why the Osprey went into the water… it went into the water with the reasons I have discussed before, because during refueling the blade hit a hose.

We understand the environmental concerns of the Okinawan people and the Okinawan government and we are paying great attention to that. We have environmental experts out there and are prepared to set up the cordons around that which will prevent any leaks of fuels or pollutants. So we are watching that with the Okinawa Provincial Government and the government of Japan.

We are discussing again with the government of Okinawa the salvage operations and are working with the U.S. Navy and with the Japan Coast Guard. We are looking for options on how to get that aircraft out of the water and recover it back to our base.

I will close by saying I want to thank the citizens of Okinawa. Thank you for the many comments, calls and questions we have had about our aircrew. I am happy to say three are not in the hospital and the other two are getting the very best care that they can, and we expect that they will recover soon.

I know there is anxiety in Okinawa since 2012 about the Osprey, I understand that, but we do everything that we can to ensure safety of flight, well-trained crews and solid performance by our Ospreys, and that we never endanger the citizens of Okinawa.

Again I am very proud of our very young captain, a very young pilot, who made excellent decisions last night. No doubt in my mind that his actions saved lives last night. Potentially Okinawan lives and U.S. Marine lives. I think we should all be very proud of the great training and the great decisions made by our young officer.

It is what we expect from our young leaders… to give their best when the situation is at its worst.

I am now going to introduce the four gentlemen behind me and then we will open the floor for questions. This is Maj. Gen. Russell Sanborn, the commanding general of the 1st Marine Air Wing and he is a Harrier pilot by trade with many years and hours in his aircraft. I don’t think I need to introduce this gentleman in the suit but Consulate General Joe Ehrendreich. Sir, thank you for being here today. This is my deputy and F-18 Hornet pilot and the [3rd] MEB commander as well - Brig. Gen. John Jansen. Now we have Col. David Jones - the commander of Marine Forces Pacific while Gen. Malavet is off island. He is an engineer by trade and is providing the best advice on the salvage and recovery operations. So with that we will open up for questions.

I hope you understand we have been very open. You know what I know right now… You know what I know. We have shared everything we know about this incident and what happened there with the refueling.

Reporter 1:
With this accident… is there any apology from the U.S. Government?

Lt. Gen. Nicholson:
We spoke with Vice Governor Ageda and we have regret… we regret this accident, but we do not regret the great work of our young pilot and the decision he made not to danger the Okinawan people. I think we have to understand that yes, we regret that this accident took place, but this is good hard training that we are doing. But yes, of course we regret this incident… we absolutely regret the incident. Does that answer your question?

Reporter1:
So that means you are not going to apologize?

Lt. Gen. Nicholson:
What does regret mean? Regret is an apology. We absolutely regret the incident… and I think regret is an apology. Okay next question.

Reporter2:
Is there information regarding the Osprey that barely landed at Futenma last night?

Lt. Gen. Nicholson:
Yes we had an Osprey last night that had also been flying and conducting a safe landing at an alternate pad in Futenma, a regular safe landing, but had a problem with the landing gear.

Reporter:
I am from Okinawa Times. It has been said that the actions yesterday was a soft landing and not a crash? Was it considered a soft land or a hard landing or crash?

Lt. Gen. Nicholson:
The pilot was trying to get to shore and he brought the plane down in shallow water… which was not deep water and as close to shore as possible without going over the buildings. I would say it was a controlled landing but certainly there was damage to the airplane as he landed. So I know the airplane is in the water and the water pounded the aircraft with heavy waves… any word on that… (turns to Maj. Gen. Sanborn)

Maj. Gen. Sanborn:
Just the wave action alone will cause the aircraft to break apart. Hence why we put security around it and why we’re trying to quickly get the salvage and rescue going.

Lt. Gen. Nicholson:
Based on the waves it was certainly breaking apart the airplane. It was a hard landing, it was not a good landing for the airplane but it was enough so that all five people could survive and I think that is what's important.

Reporter:
Reportedly the crash site was one kilometer up the coast of the area so it was close to the residential area. Was the pilot aware of his closeness and was he concerned about it?

Lt. Gen. Nicholson:
I have talked to the pilot, he knew exactly where he was and that’s why he went in where he did. He knew there was a residential area there. I think it was a conscious decision not to fly over [the residential area] and to go down because he knew the plane was in trouble.

Reporter:
There are two currently still in the hospital. Are they conscious?

Lt. Gen. Nicholson:
Thank you for that question. It’s a nice question to ask. Yes, both arrived conscious and both were able to talk when they came in. One we believe will be released tomorrow with some broken bones. The other one is a little more serious and will probably be a little bit longer. Thank you for the question. And again, we expect one to be released tomorrow, and the other will probably be there a few more days maybe another week.

Reporter:
The people are concerned even though it went down in the water close to a residential area, the people are concerned it will go down over their residential area. What would you explain to those citizens?

Lt. Gen. Nicholson:
So there is a reason we train so far off shore… there is a reason our Harriers and our Hornets train 150 miles off shore… doing air to air combat maneuver… 150 miles off shore… in designated training areas approved by the government of Okinawa and the government of Japan. This is where we train. And we don’t do it over Naha or Ginowan City we don’t do that here. For our Ospreys it’s the same thing - we don’t do refueling with tankers, we don’t hit tankers, over land. All of our refueling is done 10, 20, 30 kilometers off the shore and that is obviously for the safety of the Okinawan people. We do as much off shore training as we can. You will hear helicopters flying at night and where do they fly most of the time? Off shore, doing big laps around the island off shore. Our refueling and all our work is off shore. And yes sometimes we fly Ospreys into landing zones, because we have to practice that. We have obligations to be ready when called with our full set of skills.

Reporter:
Not auditable

Lt. Gen. Nicholson:
We could not do the investigation. We could not secure the crash site. We could not do a lot of things without the Japan coast guard and police. They are providing incredible support for us to be able to begin salvage operations. So that’s a very important piece and without them we could not get anything done especially since it was off base. So without their support we would have tremendous problems and we would not be able to acurrately investigate.

Ladies and gentlemen, first of all thank you for attending. You asked a tough question, "Do I apologize? … We do apologize. We apologize to the Okinawa people who perhaps will lose faith and confidence in the Osprey based on the accident that happened. But I hope they will not. I hope that after we explained why we believe the Osprey went down after striking the fuel line that they will understand this is not a mechanical issue with the Osprey.

But here is what I don’t apologize for - I don’t apologize for the hard work that we do every night off shore in training. I don’t apologize for the long hours that our Marines, sailors, airmen and soldiers are working for the defense of this alliance and I don’t apologize for the time away from home on deployment from our Marines, sailors, soldiers and airmen have in the defense of Japan. We work hard with the government of Japan and that work is important.

So we don’t apologize for hard training and we don’t apologize for being ready - but we are grateful. We are grateful for the partners in the Japan ground self-defense force, air self-defense force, maritime self-defense force. I’m grateful for those partners we work with every day in the defense of this alliance.

I hope that many Okinawans will look at the Osprey after four years of successful performance here in Okinawa and agree and understand that it is a very valuable and important part of the defense of this alliance

I hope you will understand and agree that there is risk and danger in training at night, in good weather, in bad weather but that training is necessary and that the training is important for our two countries and I hope we can all agree that we should be very proud of our flight crew that took a bad situation and prevented it from becoming a disaster.

Again I want to thank each of you for coming and I hope you have a great holiday season. Again, we regret this incident but all of us in this room know how important our training is. Thank you, arigato-gozaimasu.

• Date Taken: 12.14.2016
• Date Posted: 12.14.2016 23:19
• Story ID: 217740
• Location: OKINAWA, OKINAWA, JP