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Special Report: V-22 Crash |
Page 7 of 8
Just Added:
Feingold Floor Statement on Proposed V-22 Legislation
Pentagon Test Director Found 177 Osprey Failures Endangered Safety
Feb. 8, 2001 -- Philip Coyle, until late last month the Pentagon’s top tester, last year identified 177 failures of “flight-critical subsystems” in the Marine Corps V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft that potentially endangered safety, according to a briefing obtained by Inside the Pentagon.
The safety-related failures were among a total of 723 malfunctions in critical aircraft components Coyle found during an eight-month operational evaluation period that ended last July for the hybrid rotorcraft, which the Corps views as critical for ferrying large numbers of Marines quickly in and out of a battle area.
The test report for the V-22’s OPEVAL was released last November, when it appeared the program would shortly be approved for full-rate production. But those plans were put on hold after a Dec. 11 crash in North Carolina, which Marine Corps officials suspect was due to a failure of the aircraft’s hydraulics system and problems with its flight software. With two fatal crashes last year alone, then-Defense Secretary William Cohen created a “Blue Ribbon Panel” to review the Osprey program and recommend how to proceed.
It was before this panel that Coyle presented the briefing that contains new details about safety concerns that the former director of operational test and evaluation had not included in his main report on OPEVAL.
Among the flight-critical subsystem failures that Coyle said had safety implications were hydraulics, fuel and oil leaks -- all of which could be dangerous fire hazards to an aircraft, according to the Jan. 12 briefing. The test director found a failure in the flight control computers and abrasions in data lines and clamps, either of which could have a “potential effect on critical flight software,” the document states. A rudder actuator failed, reducing a pilot’s ability to control the aircraft.
Other examples of the 177 safety-related failures include a finding that the “lower crew door will not open after aircraft goes weight-on-wheels,” forcing the pilot to “shut down [the] aircraft and restart in order to disengage door lock pin,” which “inhibits emergency egress.”
According to testing experts, the level of safety-related failures found in the Osprey well exceeds those in other military platforms as they near production.
The briefing also details waivers the Marine Corps received that allowed Osprey program officials to skip 19 testing requirements during the evaluation period; some have yet to be completed six months after OPEVAL ended. The temporary reprieves on specific types of tests were issued because the aircraft ostensibly could not pass those tests when OPEVAL began.
Some of these waivers affected safety-related requirements, while others are related to the Osprey’s combat requirements. Perhaps the most serious of the test waivers affected both the aircraft’s safety and its combat effectiveness. Those included a waiver for tests of the V-22’s performance in “icing conditions” and another for flight tests of the aircraft’s air combat maneuvering capabilities.
Although Coyle ultimately deemed the V-22 “operationally effective,” his briefing to the Blue Ribbon Panel made clear he retains some “areas of concern” in this regard. “While analysis indicates the MV-22 meets range and [key performance parameters], possible weight increases will reduce those ranges,” the document states.
Testing also indicated that the Osprey offers less capability on a cold day than on a hot one. While the V-22 meets operational requirements for carrying loads at high altitude on hot days, “it has reduced load capacity in cold weather,” states the briefing. There is a sharp “fall-off” in the rotorcraft’s carrying capacity at temperatures below -10 degrees Centigrade, Coyle told the panel.
Last year, Coyle judged the program “not operationally suitable,” which pertains to problems the test director found in the safety and reliability of the aircraft, as well as the ability to maintain it. The latter issue sprang to national attention last month when the Marine Corps released an anonymous letter from a V-22 worker alleging his commanding officer had lied in maintenance records to make the aircraft look better.
Even before that allegation surfaced, the Marine Corps found itself defending the Osprey against Coyle’s concerns that the aircraft, if produced, would pose an undue amount of potentially serious maintenance problems. Asked at a Nov. 30, 2000, press conference if the V-22 would always prove to be a “high-maintenance” aircraft, Brig. Gen. James Amos, a top Marine aviation official, replied, “Absolutely not.”
He also dismissed the notion that the Osprey is riskier to fly because of maintenance issues, saying, “It absolutely is not.” Amos said the hours spent on maintenance for the nine aircraft at a training squadron at New River, NC -- just four of which went through OPEVAL -- is on the high side now because maintenance workers are new to the aircraft. He said their ability to fix problems quickly will improve over time.
And, Amos said, quality assurance at the Bell-Boeing contractor team will also improve as the manufacturer works out kinks in production.
Some others are less confident, noting that the V-22 -- an aircraft that the Marine Corps has said would be cheaper and easier to maintain than the aircraft it replaces -- has not proven itself as it stands at the cusp of full production. Some aircraft experts note that after four years of initial production, the V-22 parts Coyle found faulty were largely low-technology items, which might suggest fundamental problems in the manufacturing process.
“In my opinion, this is not ready for low-rate production, let alone full production,” Pentagon tactical air analyst Franklin Spinney told InsideDefense.com on Feb. 8. -- Elaine M. Grossman
Special Report - December 12, 2000
© Inside Washington Publishers
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A Troubled Past |
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