Gold Star widow of Placer County Marine outraged after latest Osprey fatal crash
The search continues for seven crew members after a U.S. Air Force Osprey aircraft crashed off the coast of Japan. The Japan Coast Guard remains in charge of the search and rescue operation.
A U.S. defense official confirmed to CBS News that one of the crew members had died after an official with Japan's coast guard said a body was recovered from the water. Seven people remain missing.
The Osprey has been in the spotlight in recent years for having a troubling track record of deadly crashes. Four fatal Osprey crashes, including Wednesday's, have claimed the lives of at least 13 American troops in just two years.
Gold Star Widow Amber Sax lost her husband, Capt. John Sax, in 2022 during a routine training mission in Southern California. She was pregnant with the couple's second child at the time her husband was killed. She has since advocated for more accountability and transparency from the military and the manufacturer of the Osprey. She sent CBS13 this statement in response to another tragedy:
"We are each devastated for the loved ones of the families affected by this mishap, as well as the Air Force, and the Osprey communities. Each time the news breaks of another aircraft going down, it sends a shockwave that is felt throughout the entire community. Although Ospreys are in service across 3 branches, this community is very small. We continue to feel desperate for answers and to see the safety of our service members being taken as seriously as possible. We want to know that every effort is being made to identity, address, and fix all safety risks that have been identified within our military aircraft.
The Marine Corps determined the crash was caused by a "dual hard clutch engagement" which caused catastrophic loss of control and was not the result of human error. The attorney representing the Sax family, Timothy Loranger, said in the crash report it outlined that the manufacturer knew about the issue since 2010.
"They have not been able to come up with a fix for this, they have not been able to find the true root cause of this failure within the aircraft," Loranger said. "It's up to the military. It's up to the manufacturers to put as much resources as they can into looking at this issue and finding out what the cause is."
They are calling for a thorough investigation into the aircraft to protect future servicemembers who are tasked with flying them. The military has not said what brought down the Osprey off the coast of Japan on Wednesday but said the aircraft manufacturer is cooperating with the investigation as the search and recovery mission continues.
Capt. John Sax was from Placer County and served as a Marine for six years. His father, Steve Sax, was a 5x MLB All-Star who had a stint with the Oakland Athletics.