[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 79 (Wednesday, May 30, 2012)]
[House]
[Pages H3261-H3263]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           CLEARING THE NAMES OF JOHN BROW AND BROOKS GRUBER

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Stivers). Under the Speaker's announced 
policy of January 5, 2011, the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. 
Jones) is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority 
leader.
  Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, this is not the first time I've been on the 
floor of the House to speak about the V 22 Osprey crash that took place 
in Arizona in 2000--the crash that claimed the lives of 19 Marines. Mr. 
Speaker, the pilots of the Osprey, Major Brooks Gruber and Lieutenant 
Colonel John Brow, have been blamed for the accident by the media.
  The reason I'm standing here 12 years later is that the Marine Corps 
has not supported the finding of their own accident investigation for 
12 years. The fact is, the official report, known as the JAGMAN report, 
conducted by the United States Marine Corps, clearly states that the 
pilots were not at fault.
  On page 77 of the JAGMAN it says:
  ``During this investigation, we found nothing that we would 
characterize as negligence, deliberate pilot error, or maintenance 
material failure.''
  After 12 years, the JAGMAN, which has not been--nor do we want to try 
to change that report that I just read, Mr. Speaker, but we're asking 
the United States Marine Corps to make the change that is necessary 
because after the crash on April 8 of 2000, the United

[[Page H3262]]

States Marine Corps claimed in their own press release:
  ``The pilots' drive to accomplish the mission appears to be the fatal 
factor.''
  Mr. Speaker, the Osprey, for those that might not be familiar, is the 
helicopter that goes from the helicopter mode into an airplane mode. At 
the time of this crash the V 22 was still an experimental plane. What 
needed to be asked by the Marine Corps was for Bell-Boeing to do more 
testing--and more testing would have probably meant that they would 
have understood an issue that's called vortex ring state, or VRS. It is 
well known in most helicopters, but in the Osprey that has the twin 
engines they did not know how the vortex ring state would impact one 
engine or the other engine. And that's what caused this tragic accident 
in April of 2000. Again, there were 19 marines killed and burned to 
death.
  Mr. Speaker, in this 10-year journey that I have been on to clear the 
names of the two marine pilots--and the picture on my immediate left is 
Colonel John Brow. His lovely wife, Trish, and their two children, 
Matthew and Michael, live in California, Maryland.

                              {time}  2050

  The other young marine beside Colonel Brow's photograph is the 
copilot whose name is Major Brooks Gruber. Major Gruber's wife, Connie, 
lives in my district. She's the one who brought this to my attention.
  In these 10 years, in addition to the JAGMAN report I just quoted 
that says that these pilots were not at fault, I have reached out to so 
many people that it's unbelievable, including the former Assistant 
Secretary of Defense Phil Coyle, and I would like to read his comment:

       Major Gruber should not be blamed for an accident caused by 
     loss of lift due to the aircraft entering vortex ring state, 
     phenomena which no one in the Marine Corps adequately 
     understood in relation to the Osprey at the time of the 
     accident. Not only did the Marine Corps not understand Osprey 
     performance under VRS, the root cause of the accident, but 
     neither the contractor nor the Marine Corps had not tested 
     the aircraft at near VRS conditions--something which, 
     following the accident, it later took the Marine Corps years 
     to accomplish. Surely, Major Gruber cannot be blamed for 
     something that the Marine Corps itself did not grasp until 
     years after his death.

  Mr. Speaker, I further quote Phil Coyle:

       Considering that it was ignorance on the part of the Marine 
     Corps that caused the April 2000 accident, the Marine Corps 
     should make it clear to Gruber's family--with no if, ands or 
     buts, that Gruber was not responsible for the accident. I 
     don't suppose the Marine Corps ever apologizes, but 
     considering that the accident was their fault, and not major 
     Gruber's, an apology to the family would be in order also.

  Mr. Speaker, I don't really like reading that because I have such 
great respect for the Marine Corps, but I must say today on the floor 
that I am very disappointed in the Marine Corps; because before I 
finish in just a few minutes you will understand why I am disappointed 
because the two wives have asked for something very simple, and I will 
explain that before I close.
  Another one of the experts who has joined us, former adviser to the 
Secretary of Defense, Rex Rivolo, stated:

       The failure of the manufacturer, Bell-Boeing, and the Navy 
     to characterize the slow speed, high rate of descent handling 
     qualities of the V 22 through flight testing, to describe 
     them for the aircrew in the NATOPS, and to provide an 
     adequate warning system were the causes of the mishap, not 
     aircrew error.
       With the passing of 10 years, and the future of the 
     aircraft now secure, I sincerely hope that the names of 
     Lieutenant Colonel Brow and Major Gruber can now be 
     exonerated and cleared for posterity. I strongly support any 
     and all measures to this end, and request this letter be 
     included in any official record regarding the causes of the 
     MV 22 mishap at Marana, Arizona, on April 8 or any resolution 
     attempting to clear the names of Lieutenant Colonel John Brow 
     and Major Brooks Gruber.

  Mr. Speaker, so many people in this 10-year effort have joined, it's 
just unbelievable. I have just read from two of those individuals who 
are well known to the defense industry.
  Another person who was in the air in the third Osprey, Lieutenant 
Colonel James Shafer, a dear friend of Brow and Gruber's who was in the 
air with them that night in a separate plane, agrees with me and has 
gone above and beyond in his quest to clear his friends' names. I want 
to thank Lieutenant Colonel James Shafer for stepping out. He's a great 
marine. He loves the Marine Corps, but he know that these two gentlemen 
should never be seen as being at fault.
  I've gotten to know the two attorneys who defended the families. Jim 
Furman in Texas was the attorney for the John Brow and Brooks Gruber 
families. In New York, the attorney was Brian Alexander. He and his 
associate defended the 17 marines and their families who were killed in 
the back of the plane. Both these attorneys, Mr. Speaker, have written 
to the Commandant of the Marine Corps and made it perfectly clear that 
the lawsuits are all settled and nothing--should the Marine Corps 
decide to give the two wives what I'm going to describe in just a few 
minutes, a letter stating clearly that their husbands, Colonel John 
Brow and Major Brooks Gruber, should not be seen at fault. They have 
stated in writing and I have copies, Mr. Speaker, that there will be no 
lawsuits. The lawsuits are over.

  This is what Connie Gruber wrote me back in 2002. I want to read part 
of this for the record:

       I contact you in hopes that leaders of integrity, free of 
     bias, would have both the intelligence and the courage it 
     takes to decide the facts for themselves. If you do that, you 
     will agree the human factor/pilot error findings should not 
     stand as it is in the military history. Again, I respectfully 
     ask for your support. Please do not simply pass this matter 
     along to General Jones without offering the support my 
     husband and his comrades deserve. Please remember, these 19 
     marines can no longer speak for themselves. I certainly am 
     not afraid to speak for them, and I believe somebody has to. 
     Even though it is easier put to rest and forgotten, please 
     join me in doing the right thing by taking the time to 
     address this important issue.

  Over the years I have received some help from the United States 
Marine Corps, but the Commandant is the person now, Mr. Speaker, that 
could give the wives what they are looking for, and that is just a 
simple letter I'm going to read for the record. That is:

       On July 27, 2000, the United States Marine Corps issued a 
     press release about the April 8, 2000, MV 22 Osprey crash 
     that killed 19 marines near Marana, Arizona. In that press 
     release, the Marine Corps cited human factors as the cause of 
     the accident. Furthermore, the release included a statement 
     saying ``the pilots' drive to accomplish that mission appears 
     to have been the fatal factor.'' Since that press release, 
     there has been a mistaken perception in the news media and 
     written history that cause of the accident was pilot error. 
     That perception dishonors the pilots who died that night, 
     Lieutenant Colonel John Brow and Major Brooks Gruber. I would 
     like to set the record straight on this matter. The July 27, 
     2000 press release unfairly placed the blame for the accident 
     at the pilots' feet. It is morally wrong to place the blame 
     for that accident on John Brow and Brooks Gruber. The mishap 
     was not a result of pilot error, but was the result of a 
     perfect storm of circumstances. Any accident is a result of a 
     multitude of factors. The primary causal factors of this 
     accident were:
       One, insufficient developmental research and flight 
     testing;
       Two, no knowledge of the possible sudden onset of an 
     asymmetrical flight condition and loss of control during 
     vertex ring state;
       Three, inadequate MV 22 NATOPS VRS discussion, warnings, 
     and procedures;
       Four, no VRS avoidance training.
       With no knowledge, training, or warning concerning the 
     possible consequences of VRS, John Brow and Brooks Gruber 
     were essentially on their own in uncharted territory. The 
     official investigation into this mishap explicitly states, 
     ``During this investigation, we found nothing that we would 
     characterize as negligence, deliberate pilot error, or 
     maintenance/material failure.'' I wholeheartedly agree with 
     the investigation. Any publication that is contrary to the 
     official Marine Corps investigation and reflects the mishap 
     was a result of pilot error should be corrected and recanted. 
     Lieutenant Colonel John Brow and Major Brooks Gruber were 
     aviation pioneers in the truest sense. The ultimate sacrifice 
     made by all 19 marines aboard the aircraft that night led to 
     a critical advancement in MV 22 safety and capability and 
     overall readiness of the United States Marine Corps. It is 
     because of their sacrifice that the MV 22 is successfully 
     carrying marines in and out of combat today.

                              {time}  2100

  Mr. Speaker, the letter I just read has been approved by the marines 
who wrote the investigation, Colonel Mike Morgan, Colonel Ron Radich 
and Major Phil Stackhouse, and has been approved by the widows, Connie 
Gruber down in Jacksonville, and her daughter Brooks, and Trish Brow in 
California, Maryland, and her two sons, Michael and Matthew. The letter 
does not go against any word in the investigation. The commandant 
should send these letters to the two wives.
  Mr. Speaker, I have said to the commandant a few months ago: Sir, if 
you

[[Page H3263]]

would call a press conference at marine headquarters in Washington, 
D.C. and you would invite the families of John Brow and Brooks Gruber, 
you would present the two wives, Connie and Trish, on your stationery, 
exactly, Mr. Speaker, what I just read, this would bring a tragedy to a 
close.
  I'm going to continue to beat this drum, Mr. Speaker, for as long as 
I can because the dead cannot speak for themselves. If we the living do 
not speak for the dead and tell the truth, how can you ever correct a 
mistake if we don't take this upon ourselves?
  Mr. Speaker, the last point before I close, I want to read this. This 
is from the attorneys Brian Alexander and Francis Young. These two 
attorneys went to an administrative judge, and the lawyers for Bell-
Boeing were there, and they made this point on April 8, 2000:

       There was no emergency procedure or recovery technique for 
     asymmetric VRS. The pilot manual lacked adequate content, 
     accuracy and clarity. Because of incomplete development 
     testing there was insufficient explanatory or emphatic test 
     to warn pilots of the hazards of operating in this area. The 
     pilot manual was plagued with inaccuracies that degraded 
     flight operations and contained performance charts provided 
     by the developers which did not reflect actual conditions.

  Mr. Speaker, Bell-Boeing, after the lawsuit, had an experimental 
pilot named Tom McDonald who spent 700 hours in the air trying to 
figure out how you respond to vortex ring state. He figured it out. He 
won the Kincheloe Award, which is only given to one experimental pilot 
in this country per year, because he solved the problem of vortex ring 
state--VRS--what pilots are supposed to do when they hit that VRS 
state.
  Mr. Speaker, I hope that the commandant of the Marine Corps, who I 
have great respect for, will do what is right for John Brow, Brooks 
Gruber, and actually the 17 marines in the back of the plane that 
crashed and issue the letter that I just read for the record to the two 
wives, do it in a public setting, bring the press in and say that the 
Marine Corps does not forget its dead.
  It is so simple, Mr. Speaker, that you will never believe how many 
people have said to me in this 10-year journey: Why doesn't the Marine 
Corps do it? I can't explain it. The lawsuits are over. The plane is 
safe. The V 22 is safe. Nobody's trying to take it out of the program. 
But for the families of John Brow and Brooks Gruber, this is the right 
thing to do. In my humble opinion, the Marine Corps is so well 
respected and thought of in this Nation that they would be even revered 
more if they would say to Colonel John Brow, to Major Brooks Gruber and 
their families, you did your job, you did it to the best of your 
ability. We regret that you were not prepared, but it was not your 
fault that you were not prepared. It was a rush to get this thing 
completed by Bell-Boeing and the United States Marine Corps.
  With that, Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the staff for staying later 
tonight. I knew that I could convey my heart in about 25 minutes.
  Mr. Speaker, I will continue to be on the floor from time to time 
with the photographs of these two young marine officers. I wish I had 
the 17 that were in the back of the plane, but I don't.
  With that, Mr. Speaker, as I always do when I think about our troops 
over in Afghanistan and Iraq, I close by asking God to please bless the 
families of our men and women in uniform. I ask God to please bless 
those who have given a child dying for freedom in Afghanistan and Iraq. 
And I'm going to ask God tonight to please bless this effort to clear 
the names of John Brow and Brooks Gruber. I'm going to ask God to 
please bless the House and Senate, that we will do what is right in the 
eyes of God for his people in America. I ask God to please bless Mr. 
Obama, that he will do what is right in the eyes of God for the 
American people. And three times I will ask God, please, God, please, 
God, please continue to bless America.
  With that, Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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