First Air Force Accident With Fatalities For The Tilt-Rotor Aircraft

An Air Force CV-22 Osprey went down in Afghanistan last week, killing three military crewmen and a civilian contractor. Several others were injured It was the first such fatal accident involving the aircraft since it became operational with the Air Force in 2006.

The aircraft was attached to the 1st Special Operations Wing in Hurlbert, FL. The Air Force identifies two of the casualties as Maj. Randell D. Voas and Senior Master Sgt. James B. Lackey from the 8th Special Operations Squadron. An Army soldier and a civilian employee also died in the crash. Their names have not yet been released.

The CV-22 was carrying U.S. Forces when it crashed approximately seven miles west of Qalat City, in Zabul Province. The injured were transported to a nearby base for medical treatment.

Major Voas, 43, was a CV-22 evaluator pilot and a former MH-53 pilot. Previously a Chief Warrant Officer in the Army, he received his Air Force commission through Officer Training School in 1999. He flew MH-53 PAVE LOW helicopters until 2003 before becoming a UH-1 flight instructor at Fort Rucker, AL, and he began training on the CV-22 in 2006. He had more than 160 combat flight hours.

Sergeant Lackey, 45, was a CV-22 evaluator flight engineer and a former MH-53 flight engineer. He enlisted in the Air Force in 1986 and became an aircraft maintenance crew chief. In 1992, he began MH-53 flight engineer training and flew on the PAVE LOW for 14 years before becoming a CV-22 flight engineer student in 2006. He received a Distinguished Flying Cross in 2002 for acts of heroism in combat.

File Photo

The 8th SOS completed its first CV-22 combat deployment in November 2009, and returned to Afghanistan in March for its second deployment.

FMI: www.af.mil