Marine who died in MV-22B Osprey crash posthumously awarded Navy and Marine Corps Medal
According to a news report by the Associated Press that appeared on ABC News, Cpl. Spencer R. Collart has been posthumously awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal after the US Marine Corps (USMC) released findings from its investigation into the Aug. 27, 2023, MV-22B Osprey crash during a military exercise in Australia, which revealed Collart’s acts of heroism.
As reported by Alert 5, Cpl. Collart, a 21-year-old crew chief, initially escaped the burning aircraft after it crashed nose-first during the exercise. Nevertheless, he re-entered the smoke-filled and flaming wreckage in an attempt to rescue the two pilots after he realized they were still trapped in the cockpit.
The official Marine Corps investigation into the crash found that Collart “heroically reentered the burning cockpit of the aircraft in an attempt to rescue the trapped pilots. He perished during this effort.”
MV-22B Osprey crash
After Collart enlisted, he got his top assignment choice and met his two best friends, Lance Cpl. Evan Strickland and Cpl. Jonah Waser. They spent a year together training to become crew chiefs, enlisted Marines responsible for the MV-22B and its passengers.
Strickland was killed along with four other Marines in a training crash in California in June 2022. Collart served as a pallbearer. He stayed in close touch with Strickland’s family.
In the Osprey, Collart spent most of the flight in the “tunnel,” the area right behind the pilot and co-pilot, learning from them, with a goal to become a pilot himself.
On Aug. 27, 2023, Collart’s MV-22B crashed during an Australian military exercise.
The Osprey filled with smoke and flames seconds after it hit the ground. Collart had been standing in the tunnel even as the plane was going down. Most of the 23 troops on board escaped out the back, including a commander who told investigators he saw Collart escape out a side door.
But not everyone made it out: the MV-22B crashed nose first hence the pilots were still inside and trapped.
So, Collart went back.
According to the investigation, Collart may have succeeded in unbuckling Maj. Tobin Lewis, the aircraft commander, from his restraints before succumbing to the hazardous conditions. Both Maj. Lewis and Capt. Eleanor LeBeau, the other pilot, also perished in the incident.
V-22’s fatal accidents
Investigators confirmed Collart’s initial escape because they found his undamaged tether outside the aircraft. Maj. Lewis was credited by the report with a last-minute maneuver to level the aircraft as it was crashing, contributing to the survival of the troops in the rear compartment.
The highest non-combat decoration awarded for heroism by the Department of the Navy, the Navy and Marine Corps Medal will be presented to Collart’s family in recognition of his valor. This award underscores the extreme risk to his own life that Collart undertook in his rescue attempt.
Noteworthy, this incident adds to the ongoing discussion about the V-22 Osprey’s safety record and operational challenges.
The crash resulted in three fatalities and further highlights the aircraft’s troubled operational history being one of four fatal Osprey accidents in the past two years. The fourth member of the flight crew, Cpl. Travis Reyes, survived with critical injuries and has been recovering at Brooke Army Medical Center for the past year.
V-22
The V-22 Osprey is a joint service multirole combat aircraft utilizing tiltrotor technology to combine the vertical performance of a helicopter with the speed and range of a fixed-wing aircraft. With its rotors in vertical position, it can take off, land and hover like a helicopter. Once airborne, it can convert to a turboprop airplane capable of high-speed, high-altitude flight. This combination results in global reach capabilities that allow the V-22 to fill an operational niche unlike any other aircraft.
The USMC MV-22B Osprey is a tiltrotor V/STOL aircraft designed as the medium-lift replacement for the CH-46E Sea Knight assault support helicopter. The Osprey can operate as a helicopter or a turboprop aircraft and offers twice the speed, six times the range, and three times the payload of the CH-46E.
The MV-22 Osprey’s mission for the US Marine Corps is the transportation of troops, equipment, and supplies from ships and land bases for combat assault and assault support.
The US Air Force (USAF) CV-22 is the Special Operation Forces (SOF) variant of the USMC MV-22 Osprey.
Photo by Chief Petty Officer Joe Kane / U.S. Navy and screenshot from video
